Wanted: Homes for seven pigs plus these cheeky little swines

IT was always going to be a pig of a job – but finding homes for a group of rescued farm animals has just become doubly difficult.

Staff arrived at the Scottish SPCA's rescue shelter in Balerno to find the seven pigs they had been looking after had suddenly become 13.

The new arrivals were discovered by staff two weeks ago as they inspected the pens at the start of their morning shifts.

They now face months of looking after the piglets until new homes can be found for them.

Centre manager Diane Stewart said that, although they thought one of the sows may have been pregnant, they still did not know when to expect the young piglets to arrive.

She said: "It was a bit of a shock when we came into work two weeks ago and found the new litter of piglets.

"Their mother had been swelling up over the weeks beforehand, so we thought that she was probably pregnant, but it was still a surprise when the litter suddenly arrived.

"We thought it would be quite difficult to re-home the pigs we already have but now we've got even more of them to try to re-home.

"The piglets are still a couple of months off being ready, as they are still suckling, but as soon as they are weaned, we will need to find new owners for them too.

"They're really cute wee things and are getting on very well. Like the adults, they aren't causing us any trouble and are very intelligent, curious animals. Of course, anyone wanting to take any of the pigs we have will need to have a small-holding or outdoor facilities suitable for keeping them, which means we are looking for a very specific kind of person. It could be a while before we are able to find new owners to take all of our pigs."

In December, The Evening News reported that the seven adult kune kune pigs, a small-to-medium-sized breed, had been taken to the shelter after being abandoned in the north of Scotland.

They were believed to have been part of a circus petting zoo before being rescued by inspectors.

They are described as both "friendly and intelligent" but, as prospective owners will need a lot of space to look after them as well as a Ministry of Agriculture licence, welfare chiefs are worried they will be left homeless for months.

Doreen Graham, the Scottish SPCA's press and campaigns manager, added: "The seven kune kune pigs we had originally are great animals and we are very keen to find the right sort of person to re-home them.

"Obviously things have got a little more complicated now that six more of them have turned up as well, but we will be looking after them all until the right people come along to take them.

"Although they are not house pigs, they can be really fantastic pets. They need space to rummage about in and they need to be properly cared for, but they are great animals to have."

The pigs are just part of a wide menagerie of homeless animals currently at the Edinburgh rescue centre.

Other creatures currently waiting to be re-homed include goats, rats, ferrets, snakes, fish, horses, rabbits and hamsters.