Piglet tossed like a football gets adopted

BATON ROUGE, La. • A baby pig rescued after being tossed like a football near a Mardi Gras event in New Orleans has found a permanent home with a Louisiana lawmaker.

The weeks-old little pink critter — dubbed Earl “Piglet” Long, a play on the name of the former 45th governor of Louisiana — was ceremoniously pardoned by Lt.-gov. Billy Nungesser on the Louisiana Capitol steps.

“He will live out his life without any threat of being thrown like a football or being part of jambalaya or boudin in someone’s kitchen here in Louisiana,” Nungesser said referring to two popular dishes that contain sausage.

While beads, stuffed animals and hand-decorated souvenirs are frequently catapulted through the air during Carnival Season in Louisiana, pigs are not among those items.

The piglet’s journey to a new home began earlier this month when a bystander noticed men in a park, not far from a Mardi Gras parade, throwing “what appeared to be a mini-football” to one another and laughing, according to the Humane Society of Louisiana.

As the bystander approached they could hear squealing and realized the object flying through the air was a baby pig. The bystander approached the men and asked for custody of the terrified animal.

“The rowdiness, endless parades, and party-like atmosphere often lend themselves to questionable behaviour — like how three grown men behaved a few days ago,” the Humane Society said.

The piglet, expected to grow to 80 pounds (36 kilograms), has since been adopted by state Rep. Lauren Ventrella and will live on a farm in the Capitol region.