A couple is fighting to keep a pig they won at a South Florida Fair auction alive, after being told that the sow would have to be butchered or the $4,700 deal was off the table.
Meg Weinberger said she received the ultimatum from fair organizers Saturday after attending the West Palm Beach fair with her husband Eric and quickly falling in love with the female pig.
An animal lover, Weinberger said she had attended the fair with the hope of bringing back a live pig to live on her and husband's animal sanctuary, free to roam with other critters - ranging from horses to geese.
While noble, the intent of saving the animal's life violates a Florida law that bars the sale of live animals at a 'terminal market' - a phrase that refers to a seller of farm products.
The auction that Weinberger and her husband won fits that criteria, spurring organizers to tell the pair they had to bring the pig - appropriately named Bella B. Swine - back as meat, or not at all.
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A couple is fighting to keep a pig they won at a South Florida Fair auction alive, after being told that the sow would have to be butchered or the $4,700 deal was off the table. Pictured is the pig in question, Bella B. Swine, who is set to be slaughtered in the coming weeks
Meg Weinberger said she received the ultimatum from fair organizers Saturday after attending the West Palm Beach fair with her husband Eric and quickly falling in love with the female pig
The disagreement saw the transaction fall apart, and Bella left at a local slaughter house.
Weinberger is now slamming fair organizers for reneging on their deal, and says that there were no signs displayed at the auction nor on a bidding agreement they signed that outlined the market's policy.
She detailed to CBS12 News how the controversy came to be, while lamenting at Bella's seemingly inevitable fate, despite winning a nearly $5,000 bid for what she assumed was the pig alive.
'I told them we wanted to bring her home to our sanctuary,' Weinberger told the outlet Monday. 'They said, “Absolutely not.'
The disagreement saw the transaction fall apart, and Bella left at a local slaughter house.
Meg said she her husband beat out other buyers after putting up $4,700 for Bella, but was told that bringing the animal back would violate animal enterprise protection laws
Meg said she her husband beat out other buyers after putting up $4,700 for Bella, but was told that bringing the animal back would violate animal enterprise protection laws.
In other words, Bella had to be butchered or the deal was off.
'They wouldn’t take our credit card,' a visibly angered Weinberger told the station in a video interview. 'They told us it was a state law that she had to be slaughtered.'
Weinberger said the revelation had dashed her and her husband's hopes of bringing back a live pig to replace one they had just lost.
Weinberger said the revelation had dashed her and her husband's hopes of bringing back a live pig to replace one they had just lost
'We lost a pig Wilbur recently,' the animal rescuer, who houses dozens of animals at her and husband's sprawling West Palm Beach property, explained. 'So I went in and I started bidding. We ended up winning the bid for $4,700.'
However, according to the President and CEO of the fair, no sum would be enough to save Bella, whose fate was apparently sealed when she was put up for sale, due to Florida laws surrounding animal sales.
Speaking to CBS12, Vicki Chouris asserted that despite not disclaiming the law on a bidding form the Weinbergers signed, the rules have been clear from the start.
She explained that the animals being sold at the auction were raised by local kids across 18 counties, who raise the livestock animals as part of a lesson on how to become proper farmers and ranchers
Megan and her husband, however, maintain that since there no signs displayed at the auction that disclaimed the law - and since they have a home ready for Bella at their West palm Beach animal sanctuary (pictured) - the pig's life should not be forfeit
She added that the animals sold off are 'necessary in maintaining the food chain.'
‘We are a venue for young people in our community to be able to learn how to become ranchers and farmers.
‘The process is they raise the animals for food consumption,' Chouris continued of why the deal fell through. 'That is the reason why.'
She added: 'To change the rules midstream, just because someone wants to take an animal home, is not ethical. These children are being taught how to follow rules.'
When asked if there was a notice that the bid was for a terminal animal when the couple signed an agreement,' Chouris conceded, 'Unfortunately it was not there.'
Despite the Weinbergers' continued efforts, Bella's fate is likely sealed - with Chouris revealing Monday that the pig is already at a local slaughter house, and that ‘her meat will be given to a charitable organization’ to be decided by the fair
'We’ve never had that brought to our attention that it wasn’t there – and it was not there,' she attempted to explain. 'It will be in the future, obviously. We are all learning from this experience.'
Megan and her husband, however, maintain that since there no signs displayed at the auction that outlined this - and since they have a home ready for Bella at their sanctuary, among horses, dogs, and even donkeys - the pig's life should not be forfeit.
After hours of debate between the parties Saturday, where organizers attempted to charge the Weinbergers anyway, it was decided the couple would not be charged the $4,700, and that the pig has since been sent to local slaughter house.
Despite the Weinbergers' continued efforts, Bella's fate is likely sealed - with Chouris explaining Monday that ‘her meat will be given to a charitable organization’ to be decided by the fair.
The child who raised Bella from a piglet, meanwhile, will still receive money for her work, the fair said.
DailyMail.com has sent a request to the South Florida Fair for comment.
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