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A man in Argentina who allegedly adopted Roma, a female potbellied pig (who was raised by a family as their companion animal) and gave her to another person to kill her and cook her so he could eat her, may be facing legal action. The man was identified and a complaint has already been filed against him by the family that raised Roma.

Mariela and her family raised Roma from infancy until she was two years old, but they decided to give her up for adoption since they could not continue to take care of her. They found an acquaintance who showed intentions of staying with her. Fernando Pieroni, the president of the Planeta Vivo foundation who found out about this case, told La Nacion that, allegedly, Roma broke her enclosure and the custodian decided that he could not have her anymore. However, instead of telling the original family, who warned him that if he could not take care of her they would take her back, he gave her to a neighbour to kill her on the condition that he gave him a piece of Roma to eat.

Pieroni said the foundation initiated legal action on the matter and that its lawyer, Alfredo Carrillo, has already started it. The complaint was made at UFI No. 5 of Escobar and its admission has already been confirmed. Carrillo told La Nacion: “We initiated the complaint as an infringement of law 14,346 (which establishes penalties for people who mistreat or make victims of acts of cruelty to animals), for paragraph 3, and we add the damage to an animal and scams and other frauds. We have typified all these crimes and have provided witnesses testimonies; we ask for the seizure of the phones and the search of the home.”

“Originally from Catalonia, but resident in the UK for several decades, Jordi is a vegan zoologist and author, who has been involved in different aspects of animal protection for many years. In addition to scientific research, he has worked mostly as an undercover investigator, animal welfare consultant, and animal protection campaigner. He has been an ethical vegan since 2002, and in 2020 he secured the legal protection of all ethical vegans in Great Britain from discrimination in a landmark employment tribunal case that was discussed all over the world. He is also the author of the book, ‘Ethical Vegan: a personal and political journey to change the world’.