You almost can’t blame Paris Hilton for buying one. After all, breeders depict now trendy “teacup pigs” as ideal pets that won’t get much bigger than the promotional shots of them snuggled in mugs.
But these little piggies don’t always stay little. “It’s a marketing scheme,” says Yvonne McIntosh, “Piggy Paradise” manager at Best Friends Animal Society, a Utah sanctuary. “I was floored when all of the sudden the word ‘teacup’ was in front of pigs. It gives people an image of a very small pig — they will not stay small. It takes them five years to reach mature size.”
McIntosh predicts more surrendered animals as celebrities pose with them — a likely problem, considering a Golden Globes’ gifting suite included certificates for pigs. “People look up to celebrities and go out and buy these pigs without educating themselves. Then the pig gets dumped.”
