Pig eater threatened

Photo: CTV

UPDATE 1:26 p.m.

The controversy surrounding the death and subsequent consumption of a potbellied pig named Molly continues to live on even if the pig itself does not.

BC SPCA says staff members at the Cowichan branch on Vancouver Island have endured withering public criticism after arranging the adoption of a potbellied pig, later butchered by its new owner.

Spokeswoman Lorie Chortyk says workers at the Cowichan branch in Duncan were already upset about the death of the pig, named Molly, but are now being "inundated with nastiness" by callers and visitors.

ORIGINAL 6:57 a.m.

The Vancouver Island man accused of killing and eating a potbellied pig he adopted from the BC SPCA now says he's sorry after a major online backlash.

Austin Manson Forget now says he did not set out to eat Molly the pot-bellied pig seized during a cruelty investigation last year.

"I promise that I did not adopt Molly with the intention of killing her, it was only when she became aggressive with my partner's dog and had tried breaking through our glass door that I made the decision to have her put down," he wrote. "I understand and invite people to have their own opinions on the matter, but please understand that I am still human. I realize that what I did was wrong, and I cannot fix it, I can only continue to apologize. I don't want to justify what happened."

Forget says he slaughtered Molly humanely.

Molly was one of 57 pigs nursed back to health after being seized last year. She was adopted in January and the SPCA said it was informed earlier this month that she had been eaten.

-with files from CTV Vancouver Island