An Atmore man hopes that he will be able to find the people responsible for killing four “beloved” pigs that he was raising as pets and for profit.

Israel Wiggins said that the animals were out of their pen on Friday, July 3. Wiggins said that the animals typically roam close to his home at 971 West Road, but then eventually return.

“We let the neighbors know that the pigs were loose,” Wiggins said. “They’ve gotten out before, but they don’t roam far and they always return.”

Wiggins received a message on Facebook on Tuesday, July 7, letting him know that some pig carcasses had been found near Smith Dairy Road, and asking if they might be Wiggins’ animals. The location was almost 5 miles from Wiggins’ home.

Wiggins drove out to the site and confirmed that they were his pigs. He said they included a 600-pound boar, two pregnant sows who were due to give birth in a few months, and another smaller boar.

“They were mutilated,” Wiggins said. “It looked like someone had cut them up with a knife, and then dumped them. It makes me sick that someone would do this. This was my income, and they were gentle family pets as well, and someone took them away from me.”

He noted that children would regularly ride on the pigs, and that they were so docile you could feed them by hand. He also planned to sell the sows’ piglets at market.

Wiggins said that he filed a report with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, and also with a livestock investigator for the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries. He said that anyone who knows what might have happened to his pigs can call him at (251) 294-3449 or send him a message on Facebook.