A clever pig escaped the chop on the way to an abattoir – by leapfrogging out of a trailer on the backs of two bigger porkers.
The desperate animal was one of three being transported by Sarah Allan from her smallholding to a slaughterhouse eleven miles away.
But Sarah, 29, was dumbstruck when after arriving to drop off the livestock, she realised there were only two in her trailer.
She started a large-scale search team involving friends and neighbours back home in Langtree, Devon – to locate the porker on the run.
Thankfully a local farmer then posted on Facebook to report a curious pig wandering one of his fields.
After claiming the incident showed the animal was ‘destined’ to avoid the abattoir, Sarah, her husband Stuart and two children Archie, six, and Phoebe, three, have named him Milton and are keeping him as a family pet.
Sarah Allan and her husband Stuart with their children Archie aged six and Phoebe aged three, with their pet pig Milton at their farm near Holsworthy, Devon
The desperate piggy was one of three being transported by Sarah Allan from her smallholding to a slaughterhouse eleven miles away
Sarah and her husband Stuart believe the pig was too small to climb over the back of the trailer himself.
They think in desperation he must have used his friends to propel himself out of the trailer on the way to the abattoir.
Sarah says the porker has saved himself – and is now destined to stay on the farm.
She said: ‘It was just a clearly a mad day. On the way to the abattoir we were saying how smoothly it had all gone.
‘We got in to join the queue for the abattoir and my husband said: ‘Sarah there’s only two?’
‘I said: ‘Don’t be silly there can’t be two.’ I was in shock.’
Sarah has three pigs on her smallholding each year – with a view to share the meat out between her friends and family.
The mother-of-two also keeps 16 chickens and three ducks – but insisted these are pets.
Sarah was relieved when a farmer from the village of Milton Damerel posted on a Facebook community page reporting the missing pig.
‘It’s the joy of social media,’ she added.
‘We were out for hours looking for him. He’d managed to come straight out of the trailer and onto a 60 mile an hour road.
‘He’s then gone straight in the field next to the road.
‘We don’t tend to name them but a lot of people have said maybe we should name him Milton – after where he was found.’
After a search team was launched, a local farmer then posted on Facebook to report a curious pig wandering one of his fields
Sarah and her husband Stuart believe the pig was too small to climb over the back of the trailer himself and must have used his friends to propel himself out of the trailer on the way to the abattoir
Sarah has some sympathy with the pig – after spending some time chasing him to bring him home.
And since they were already at the abattoir when she realised one was missing, the other two pigs were left to face the music – which Sarah says has left the third feeling down.
‘The other two pigs have gone to the abattoir – so he is a little bit sad about his friends,’ she said.
‘I sat up with him last night – he misses his friends.
‘But he’s safe and well. He’s become quite famous pig over the last 24 hours.
‘I think this piggy is destined to stay with us.’
