Chief defends officer’s shooting of 100-pound pet pig

SLATINGTON, Pa. – A Pennsylvania police chief is defending an officer who fatally shot a 100-pound (45-kilogram) pet pig that bit a woman, scared a dog and chased the officer.

Slatington police Chief David Rachman tells The (Allentown) Morning Call (http://bit.ly/2f7LlEl ) the pig grunted and charged at the officer July 21. Seeing the animal in distress, the officer fired a second shot to put the animal out of its misery then discarded the carcass in woods along Lehigh River.

Pet owner Lance Sherer wasn’t around when the pig was shot. He found the carcass the next day and brought it home for burial, and is upset.

Rachman says he feels for Sherer, but says the shooting is the first of a pet by police in nearly 600 animal complaints dating to 2008.