Stray Pig Search Continues in Lancaster County

Volunteers from Eastern Snouts Adoption and Rehoming have begun a search for two stray pigs in Manheim and Manor townships, Lancaster County. The pigs, both males and lightly colored with dark spots, are believed to have been abandoned after growing too large for their owners.

The first pig was spotted in the Bent Creek neighborhood of Manheim Township in June, and the second near Conestoga Country Club in Manor Township in August, according to a Lancaster Online report.

When Manor Township police started receiving reports of a pig digging up yards and gardens near the Conestoga Country Club, the department turned to Eastern Snouts Adoption and Rehoming, a nonprofit organization that rescues pigs across the East Coast, to help relocate the animal. 

“We don't have the expertise for something like this,” Manor Township police Chief Colin Cleary told Lancaster Online. “They don't teach these things at the police academy.”

“There's no one around the country that is able to handle pigs like we do,” said Gina Mocci, a board member of Eastern Snouts Adoption and Rehoming, in a statement to Lancaster Online. “Most humane societies aren't equipped to house them.”

One of the pigs in Lancaster County was nearly caught during the weekend of Sept. 13-14. While attending an event at the Lancaster County Farm Sanctuary in Mount Joy Township, two Eastern Snouts volunteers received a report about a sighting of one of the pigs in Bent Creek. However, by the time they arrived, the pig had disappeared.

Eastern Snouts is collaborating with residents living near both pig sightings to place treats inside fenced enclosures with the hope that the pigs can be captured. One Manor Township resident offered her backyard as a place to attract one of the pigs. Eastern Snouts is asking people who spot them not to feed the pigs or chase after them.

The Lancaster County Farm Sanctuary has agreed to rehome the pig seen in Manheim Township once volunteers capture it. Another foster home will take in the pig spotted in Manor Township until Eastern Snouts can identify a suitable permanent home for the animal.