FARMERS Jane and Ken Conder from Kings Langley were appalled to find the remains of a brutally slaughtered pig in one of their fields.

All that was left of a 200kg sow after a night-time attack was its guts and head.

Mrs Conder said: "It is just an atrocity to think someone could do that.

"The horrendous suffering of the pig they must have slit its throat and let it bleed."

She said whoever carried out the attack knew what they were doing because the pig had been expertly butchered.

She said: "It was killed during the night, and the meat was taken away."

One of the pigs escaped and was found with a chain around its neck the morning after the attack. Mrs Conder believes it only survived because it was male.

She said: "I think they realised it wasn't edible meat. When a male pig is 'being used', they have a funny taste so they killed a sow instead."

However, it was three days before the reprieved swine could be caught and freed from the chain.

Mrs Conder, of Woodside Farm, said: "The stress the pigs must have gone through is incredible.

"The rest of them were unsettled for several days afterwards."

Mrs Conder has been involved in farming for almost 30 years and is a member of the Ladies in Pigs organisation. But she said she had never seen or heard of anything like it.

She said: "It was a bit of a shock, you don't expect that sort of thing to happen."

All the evidence points to the meat being stolen for human consumption.

Mrs Conder said it was even more surprising someone would go to such lengths for the meat because it was so cheap at the moment.

The police are investigating the case and ruled out any motive more sinister than greed.

October 31, 2001 20:13

Caroline Graham