A British Columbia resident who adopted a potbellied pig named Molly from the SPCA and then ate it has been banned from future SPCA adoptions.
Molly was one of 57 potbellied pigs to be seized following an animal cruelty investigation on Vancouver Island a year ago. SPCA staff say they spent months nursing the pigs back to health before they could be adopted.
Someone adopted Molly in January, but the SPCA has been informed the pig’s owner ate the animal last week.
Lorie Chortyk, a spokesperson for the B.C. SPCA said staff are "extremely upset" because they did everything in their power to give the pig a home where they thought it would be loved and cared for until it died naturally.
"Our staff conducted a thorough adoption counselling process," she said in a statement to CTV Vancouver. "The adopter gave assurances, verbally and in writing, that their intent was to keep the animal as a pet. Unfortunately it is a rare instance where an adopter blatantly lied."
The individual has been banned from adopting a pet from the 36 SCPA locations in British Columbia, but Chortyk said it’s the only course of action the organization can take.
"Because they were the legal owners of the animal after the adoption and it is not illegal in Canada to eat animals for food, we have no legal recourse to recommend any charges," she said.
With files from CTV Vancouver
