As the owner of three pot-bellied pigs, I have always been fascinated by these extremely intelligent animals, and I was therefore interested to find out more about the work carried out by Pigs in the Wood, a non-profit sanctuary for pigs and other animals that have been rescued from various situations, often having been abused and mistreated. The sanctuary is based in the village of Scissett in Huddersfield and is set within 10 acres of woodland where the pigs are free to roam and live naturally.

I spoke to Jaclyn Haggata (Jac), the owner of Pigs in the Wood, to get an insight into the sanctuary, and she told me that, in actual fact, the sanctuary came about accidentally after she had rescued six pigs that had been destined to be slaughtered at just four months old. As these pigs were classed as ‘runts’, it was not cost-effective to keep them, as the cost of the feed outweighed the value of the pig, and therefore it was not profitable. At the time, Jac and her husband were living in a caravan on a smallholding in Cornwall with their two children, four dogs, one cat and a couple of tortoises, whilst they embarked on renovating a property.

However, due to family circumstances, the family had to move to Yorkshire, and, of course, the plan was to take the animals with them. Whilst waiting for their house to sell, luck would have it that a farmer accidentally put a male piglet in the field, and, despite the fact that the pig was supposed to have been castrated, low and behold, twelve further piglets arrived! Jac tells me that she finds pigs fascinating, and she enjoyed witnessing their births and interacting with them when they would play and feed. Jac weaned the piglets on bananas and porridge and spent hours with them, resulting in her discovery of just how intelligent these animals are.

As the house move was imminent, Jac ended up having to re-home the piglets, and, she says, this was a particularly heartbreaking time. Jac visited the pigs as often as she could, but one winter, when it had snowed heavily, the landowner where the pigs were being kept couldn’t reach them, and when Jac discovered that they had run out of food and broken into a caravan seeking shelter, she was devastated. On her next visit, one of the piglets, who was now four months old, came running across the field to greet her, and Jac couldn’t believe that the piglet remembered her. The next time Jac visited, it was to bring all the pigs up to Yorkshire. Now, I know how difficult it is getting three little pigs into a trailer to transport them, as I myself had to do this when we moved last year, so I can’t imagine how long it took Jac to get all of hers rounded up! Admittedly, she says it took all day to get just three pigs into the van, and so, after a seven-hour journey, she went back to collect the remaining pigs.

Jac rented a field yards away from her new house in Yorkshire; however, this proved unsuitable for the pigs, who were living in a static caravan, so, when a 10-acre area of woodland came up for sale by auction in Scissett, her husband went along out of interest and found himself the owner of said woodland after scratching his nose at the right time (or maybe the wrong time) to close the bid! Whilst Jac’s husband saw the woodland as an investment, she saw it as a dream come true – at last her very own pig sanctuary!

However, unfortunately, Jac’s problems had only just begun as she found herself up against problem after problem. Getting planning approval for a wooden structure to house the pigs was just the beginning. After being refused by the local council, Jac took her application to appeal, and this was finally granted. Then came opposition from local people who had used the private woodland to exercise their dogs, dump rubbish and for teenagers to gather and light fires. The list, says Jac, was endless. In time, the locals conceded, and the site was cleaned and a shelter erected for the pigs.

It wasn’t long after that Jac was approached by individuals to re-home their ‘micro-pigs’. Councils were dishing out eviction notices for breach of tenancy for people keeping a ‘farm’ animal, and Sheffield Council asked them to take on 16 pigs. Unsurprisingly, they were not prepared to support the sanctuary financially.

Over time, Jac rescued a number of pigs from all over the country, who were all living in completely unsuitable accommodation. One was in a flat on the top floor of a high-rise building; she was so overweight she could hardly walk, and her nails were overgrown and curled. Another, known as Del-Boy, was living in the backyard of a terrace house in Bournemouth and being fed a diet of fast food, including pizza and chips, which had resulted in him becoming obese. Jac re-homed Del-Boy. She took him all the way to Scotland to be with a female pig and to live on acres of land. Jac says she was later informed that Del-Boy had lost a considerable amount of weight chasing after the female pig who, it seems, wasn’t as remotely interested in him as he was in her!

The ethos of Pigs In The Wood is to enable visitors to come to the sanctuary to observe the animals in their natural surroundings, exhibiting natural behaviours, and to be able to connect with them. Visitors will learn about the pigs' personalities, and the sanctuary aims to dispel some of the myths about these animals.

In order to cover the costs of feeding, general maintenance and vet bills, Pigs In The Wood host events throughout the year, such as the ‘Pig Gig’ which is a two-day music festival, and a special Christmas event which will take place this year on the 20th December. Tours of the sanctuary provide a regular source of income, and funds are also raised in the cafe.

Due to health reasons and personal circumstances, Jac has now decided to hand over the reins to someone who can take Pigs In The Wood to the next stage. The decision hasn’t been an easy one, as the sanctuary has been a huge part of Jac’s life for the last ten years. However, until the right person is found, and Jac is confident she is handing things over to a successor with the right attributes, then she will remain committed to the job she started all those years ago.

If you would like to learn more about Pigs In The Wood you can visit their website https://www.pigsinthewood.com/