You’ll figure it out, eleven grunting pigs packed in two cardboard boxes. They were neatly spaced, the black spotted ones in one box and the plain white ones in the other. A passerby found the dumped animals during an evening walk in the Philips de Jongh park in Eindhoven.
“It sometimes happens that pigs are dumped. Owners quickly underestimate the kind of care these animals need. Pigs are smart, can fool people and are good at escaping,” says Ragnhild Diepens. As president of non-profit organization Hobby pig association does she know all about the pink grunts, but packed in a box? No, that’s her first time too.
“Pigs are smart, sometimes manipulative and good at escaping.”
They had also never experienced this before at the Regional Shelter for Stray Animals Eindhoven (ROZE) foundation. Although they normally only pick up dogs and cats after a report, they didn’t want to leave the piglets out in the cold. The Philips de Jongh park is located just outside Eindhoven and is adjacent to the PSV training complex De Herdgang.
Picking up the little piglets went smoothly. But of course the shelter was another thing. The piglets were therefore transferred to the Hobby Pig Association of Diepens. He quickly arranged a temporary foster home with some straw beds.
“We think it’s an accident nest.”
“We think that the piglets are between eight and twelve weeks old and that it is a kind of accident litter,” says Diepens. According to her, these are two different litters of piglets. “People often don’t know that pigs are fertile as early as ten weeks, or they buy a pig without knowing it’s pregnant.”
For the time being, the piglets will stay with the foster family for four weeks to relax. They are still being examined by a vet. “The piglets are still a bit in shock, but they are not very frightened,” says Diepens. “We wait until the piglets show initiative to socialize. Then the piglets can go to a new owner.”