200 pigs rescued from Morganton home

MORGANTON, N.C. — Two North Carolina rescue groups jumped into action after hearing about 200 pigs at a Burke County home filled with mud and manure.

Burke County Animal Control officers found the neglected —mostly potbellied — pigs at a small farm near Morganton.

Rescuers said the pigs were being “hoarded” by a homeowner who did not have the means to care for them.

Volunteers found 33 pigs inside the house with about 23 dogs. The floors were covered with several inches of animal feces, the Morganton Herald reported. Outside, another 135 pigs were found in the farmyard, scrounging for food and water.

The farmyard had no running water, volunteers said. The animals and the homeowner were removed from the house, and it has since been condemned. Animal Services officials said the farm owner will not be charged.

Allison Bowling, the co-founder of Red Feather Equine Sanctuary in Winston-Salem, told the Morganton Herald that she is treating the animals and is relocating them with six other rescue groups across NC.

Bowling said very few of the pigs were spayed or neutered, vaccinated, or dewormed.

She has been hauling feed and supplies to the farm since Feb. 17, as well as shoveling manure from the home and raising funds.

To get the animals prepared for adoption could cost up to $1,000, Bowling told the Morganton Herald. Following the neglect, and procedures like spaying that have been put off, the pigs’ care is more expensive.

All of the animals are under quarantine, per the state veterinarian. They were all tested for brucella, which rescuers said was no small task, and found that 98% of the animals looked good. But all the pigs will remain quarantined until they go to their new homes and their testing is complete.

The team of rescuers told the Morganton Herald that they are working to find homes for the animals while keeping up with the difficult and expensive task of caring for 200 pigs.