Pig rescue sees high number of surrenders after adopters fail to do their research

PHOENIX - At a local pig rescue, they're seeing a big uptick in surrenders.

A big reason for this is because many people are buying pigs from breeders without doing any prior research on what it takes to own a pig.

At Better Piggies Rescue, they are getting about 15 to 20 surrender requests every couple of weeks. Which they say is a lot.

The rescue says it's because of social media posts and breeders glamorizing baby pigs, but many of these pigs grow up to be several hundred pounds and that is part of the reason they are given up.

The rescue is the home of more than 100 pigs, all of them rescues or surrenders after coming from bad situations.

"It is a real problem right now with surrenders. They are inundating us because they aren’t doing the research," says Danielle Betterman with the rescue.

Six-week-old Beau is their newest addition. A family surrendered him after realizing he was not the pet they signed up for.

"The guy got back to the house to realize he wasn’t a dog at all, and the pig was petrified," Betterman said.

The big issue most people don’t realize, Betterman says, is these cute young pigs will turn into bigger pigs that need a lot of care.

"Having a pig as a pet is a lot of responsibility. It is like having a three-year-old for 15 to 20 years," Betterman said.

Some of these pigs come from abuse and hoarding situations or they were abandoned at the rescue.

They place the pigs based on their needs and work on socializing them and giving them the proper care after coming from heartbreaking backgrounds so they can start a new life with new owners.

"We show them the kindness they weren’t getting in the first place so that they can be adopted out," Betterman said.

For more information on how to get involved or adopt one of these pigs, click here https://www.betterpiggiesrescue.org/