TWO piglets have been taken in by a sanctuary after their mothers were rescued from a farm where animals were allegedly abused.

Kit and Jesse are enjoying their new lives at Dean Farm Trust’s sanctuary near Chepstow after being born in a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs isolation unit.

Their mums were among 53 pigs seized in a multi-agency raid a year ago on a West Wales farm that led to four people being charged with 78 animal cruelty offences.

The raid on Bramble Hall Farm in Pembrokeshire also saw 80 sheep, three goats, 58 dogs, 20 horses and one donkey seized by the authorities.

“Pembroke County Council were concerned about the 53 pigs entering the food chain, and thanks to tireless campaigning by Beneath the Wood sanctuary in Tregaron and countless supporters who wanted the pigs to be saved, they agreed to allow their release,” said Dean Farm spokesperson Sam Clews.

“The pigs then spent nine months in a Defra isolation unit and at any time, could have been slaughtered.

“The 53 were never truly safe until they were released to their new forever home.

“As the pigs were not separated in the isolation unit, more lives were brought into the world, and we are absolutely delighted to give two of these piglets a home for life.

“These two little boys are four months old and while they were born to different mothers, they have fast become brothers.

“We have named them Kit and Jesse, which means “hope” and “blessing”.

“Kit and Jesse will get to play in freedom, wallow in the mud, make nests to sleep under the stars and make friends with the other 24 pigs that call Dean Farm Trust home.

“These little boys are currently settling into sanctuary life in cosy beds in our barns.

“We are giving them routine medical care before they are introduced to their new family – including Uncle Watson, Phillip, Socks, Peter Pumpkin and Ralphy.”

A destruction order was originally put on the 53 rescued pigs, because of the risk of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSE), the same disease that affected cows in the 80s and 90s known as “mad cow disease”, or BSE.

But a campaign led by Beneath the Wood and animal rights group Viva led to them being freed, with Kit and Jesse’s parents now safe at the West Wales sanctuary.

The court case involving the treatment of animals at a farm in Pembroke Dock includes charges relating to animal welfare, food hygiene, running an illegal slaughterhouse and the illegal slaughter of animals to produce ‘smokies’ - an outlawed practise involving blowtorching a carcass.

Other charges include the unlicensed breeding of dogs and animal regulation breaches involving sheep, horses, dogs, pigs and goats.

Visitors will be able to say hello to Kit and Jesse and their piggy friends at Dean Farm Trust in the coming months, with guided visits and open afternoons due to be held.

See www.deanfarm trust.org for more details and videos of the piglets.