18th March 2014

Arrived very late due to other commitments thinking the sale would be in full swing.... only to find it was nowhere near starting. There were not many pens in today, about 12 pens of guinea pigs and around 20 pens of rabbits. The first line up were guinea pigs, presumably from the same unknown seller, with plenty of weight on but with skin issues across the board and the older ones had horrific nails.

I think they were all boars, I'd suggest they have been kicked out from someone using them for breeding. I bought three of them for Avalon; the others received bids from known good homes. Next were 4 pens of extremely dodgy looking pigs. One pen was withdrawn from the auction due to its condition; the others went to known reliable buyers thankfully. I pestered the auctioneer and they agreed to sell the withdrawn pen to me on the understanding that the guinea in it had ringworm and needed treatment. Sale was agreed and I had a look. She is a white crested sow, a very pretty one. Or rather she would be if she wasn't ripping at her flesh and causing huge sores. It appears to be mites, no signs of ringworm. She is terrified and spends the whole time when picked up squealing in a very high pitch. She should have never been accepted in the auction, but well done to the staff for refusing to offer her to the public. If we pester to get these auctions closed down, these pigs will never get a chance in life. We need to educate and prosecute those who feel it is acceptable to have animals suffering in this way, not close down the outlet. There are a lot of healthy pigs sold each week; they have as much chance of finding good homes as they would if sold on an internet site, or pet shops!
I also brought back three other pigs for Avalon.