Vegan activist stole a pig from farm then played Elvis in car to soothe it as they f led
‘His intentions were humane’
AN INVESTMENT broker stole a piglet to save it from the slaughterhouse – and played it an Elvis hit to keep it calm as they drove off.
Wesley Omar was spared jail yesterday after stealing the pig and playing I Just Can’t Help Believing on the car radio as it took a ride in his footwell.
Omar shared a video of their getaway on social media to encourage others to question the need for eating meat.
The pig, which was three months old when he was taken in July last year, now lives in an animal sanctuary and has been named Wilbur.
But Omar, a 23-year- old animal rights activist, ended up in court and lost his job.
A subsequent video of him visiting Wilbur at his new home went viral on the internet after it was shared by vegan American pop star Moby.
James Bide-Thomas, prosecuting, said it was only when the farmer was shown YouTube footage of the theft that it was reported to the police. Omar pleaded guilty to theft of the pig from Belmont Farm, in Pickwell, Leicestershire – near pork pie capital Melton Mowbray.
Yesterday at Leicester Crown Court he was given a 12-month community order with 100 hours of unpaid work.
Judge Nicholas Dean. QC, who was shown footage of the incident, said: ‘I accept you were doing it for a cause you believe in, but to act unlawfully for a cause is a criminal offence. You may feel you achieved something by the video being aired in this court and the publicity.’
The judge said Omar was entitled to express his beliefs but not through criminal activity, which interfered with the rights of the farmer, who had incurred loss through a £6,000 security upgrade. He told Omar: ‘ Your acts were extremely childish.’
The video of the theft begins with Omar saying he wants to ‘check out how brilliant their meat is’ as he invites viewers to ‘take a look for yourselves’. He claimed the pigs were in filthy and cramped conditions with ‘nothing to burrow in’ and just ‘a 2011 prosecuted lax little regime’ Belmont and of chain pounds fined by for to Farms Trading assessing for several play ‘a generally with’. Ltd Standards thousands and was In treating to In the his pigs video, injured for Omar their pigs. plight apologises and describes and ‘innocent’ them as before ‘intelligent’ taking one across fields to his car.
James Armstrong-Holmes, mitigating, said: ‘His intentions were somewhat humane. The pig is at a sanctuary and will live its life fully. It can’t be taken back as there’s a potential risk of contamination.’ He said Omar now plans to study psychology at the University of Derby. Outside court Omar, of Edith Weston, Rutland, said: ‘The pig I took was grunting a bit in the car and needed calming down, so I put the radio on and it seemed to work. ‘I wasn’t planning to steal him, it just happened at the last minute and I took the nearest pig – I couldn’t take them all. ‘I know I broke the law, which was wrong, but at least I saved a life. I rang someone I knew at a sanctuary and took the pig straight there – I didn’t take it home, my mother would have had a fit.’