Animal carers in Hong Kong said on Wednesday pet lovers who had bought piglets in hopes of some Year of the Pig luck may have been conned by shop owners who actually sold them rodents instead.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) said it had been contacted by people asking for care tips for what they described as mini-piglets they’d bought to mark the Lunar New Year.
According to the Chinese zodiac, this year is represented is represented by the pig.
“But when we went to the shops we couldn’t find any such piglets for sale,” said SPCA spokesperson Rebecca Ngan. “We think that what they bought instead was a type of hairless rodent that looks like a pig.”
According to reports, pet shops have seen a rush of orders for piglets.
The South China Morning Post cited shops that were selling mini-pigs for up to HK$15 000 (about R13 500).
They had been bred to grow no larger than 60cm so that they can live comfortably with families in the Chinese city’s notoriously tiny apartments.
However, Ngan said a search of the city’s pet stores unearthed no such creature.
“It’s possible these people have been fooled,” she said. — AFP