When pigs needed a place to land, Randburg SPCA rolled out the welcome mat!
Randburg, South Africa (18 August 2025) – Seventeen pigs and piglets. No warning. No perfect plan. Just a call for help and an immediate ‘yes, we’ll take them’ from the Randburg SPCA team.
Farm animals aren’t usually part of the daily chaos at this suburban shelter. But when someone reached out, desperate to find safety for their little herd, the team did what animal people always do: they improvised.
“These 17 pigs came to us in need, and while we didn’t have a perfect setup ready, we made a plan”
The dog compatibility area, where behaviourists usually help nervous pups make friends, was cleared out, mud pools dug, and suddenly, it was a pop-up pig sanctuary.
Anyone who’s ever spent time with pigs knows they don’t take long to leave their mark. Pigs are strong, stubborn, and clever, able to root up a corner, test any fence, and turn the neatest space into a muddy playground in no time.
“What was once a carefully designed dog behaviour area is now in ruins. While we have no regrets, we’re now faced with a new challenge.”
And that’s the pickle. As temporary as the setup was, it worked in a pinch. But real, lasting solutions take more.
Pigs, and any rescued farm animal, need much more than a strong fence and a patch of grass.
They need reinforced enclosures with deep posts set into the ground (so nobody escapes under or through the fence), plenty of shade, safe places to wallow, and quarantine areas where new arrivals can settle and recover before joining a bigger group. Keeping these spaces clean and safe is hard work: mud, waste, and regular foot traffic mean the ground needs to drain well, and there’s always a fence to mend or a trough to refill.
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They hope to raise R20,000 to build a proper, open-air shelter for farm animals in need. A safe landing spot for every pig, goat, or sheep that finds themselves with nowhere to go.
It’s a big promise, but it’s the promise that’s guided the Randburg SPCA for years.
“When others turn them away, we step up. Every time.” If you want to be part of Project Piggie, every little bit helps.
Find out how to support the build here.
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