March 28, 2024
animal / Dog / Pet / Pig

ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴛ Pig ᴇsᴄᴀᴘᴇᴅ From Farm And Gɪᴠᴇs Bɪʀᴛʜ To 10 Piglets In Woods

The love between a mother and her child is love knows no bounds. A ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴛ pig Matilda ᴇsᴄᴀᴘᴇᴅ from a factory farm to safely birth to ten piglets her babies. Dubbed the ‘Oʟʟᴇʀᴛᴏɴ 11’, Matilda and her piglets were discovered on Monday by a dog  walker close to the town on the edge of Sʜᴇʀᴡᴏᴏᴅ Forest.

Bᴏʀɴ on a factory farm, the ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴛ pig knew what fate awaited her babies. Pigs can naturally live for 15 to 20 years, but unless the farmer kept them for ʙʀᴇᴇᴅing, her babies wouldn’t last past six months. Matilda’s motherly instincts kicked in and she knew she had to get herself and her babies to safety in order to protect them. Anna, from Swadlincote, Derbyshire, says she hoped the farmer would now find the ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ to sᴘᴀʀᴇ them the ᴄʜᴏᴘ after they ‘earnt their freedom’ thanks to Matilda’s ᴅᴀʀɪɴɢ ᴇsᴄᴀᴘᴇ. The mum-of-two told how she was walking near the woods when she heard something in the hedges which she could tell was quite big. She thought it could have been a dog or a badger and couldn’t believe it when she saw the pig and piglets rustling around in the undergrowth. Anna added: ” I walked on but couldn’t get these pigs out of my mind and I was worried for their safety. I didn’t realise there is a pig farm nearby and she must have ᴇsᴄᴀᴘᴇᴅ from there. It’s incredible really that she went to such lengths to protect her babies.”

Jon Beresford, founder of Bʀɪɴsʟᴇʏ Aɴɪᴍᴀʟ Rᴇsᴄᴜᴇ, insisted pigs were more intelligent than dogs and he believes Matilda, aged between one and two, ᴇsᴄᴀᴘᴇᴅ to protect her unBᴏʀɴ piglets. Beresford said:” Matilda’s maternal instinct has driven her to ᴇsᴄᴀᴘᴇ from a commercial farm. Pigs are incredibly intelligent creatures and they have a huge maternal drive.” The volunteers fed Matilda a combination of cereals, fruit and vegetables to help her ʀᴇᴄᴏᴠᴇʀ from the birth but two days later she was back in the farm’s hands. Worried that the family might be ʟᴏsᴛ forever, Beresford organized a ᴘʀᴏᴛᴇsᴛand soon received a call from the farmers agreeing to ʀᴇʟɪɴǫᴜɪsʜ Matilda and her babies. Now, Matilda and her family are living comfortably at Bʀɪɴsʟᴇʏ Aɴɪᴍᴀʟ Rᴇsᴄᴜᴇ, grᴏᴡɪɴɢ stronger by the day.

In a post on the charity’s Fᴀᴄᴇʙᴏᴏᴋ page, a spokesperson said: ” We cannot tell you how emotional we all feel but we have just picked up Matilda and all her babies. Thank you so, so much everybody for helping us to do this today and all the reporters that have taken this story around the world. We also thank the farm for allowing us to ʀᴇsᴄᴜᴇthis courageous girl and her beautiful babies. Matilda & her piglets have spent the first night of freedom with us resting. She is such a good mother to them, now she no longer needs to worry about their plight. Matilda will rear her piglets naturally, we’ll be getting the ᴍᴀʟᴇs ᴄᴀsᴛʀᴀᴛᴇᴅ  in time and when they are all fit and well and independent, we’ll be seeking life-long homes for them. We’ll keep you updated.”