Pig-in-the-boot driver 'wanted to help tiger'
A woman who offered to use her five-month-old pig as bait to lure a tiger that escaped from the home of actor Steve Sipek will be reported for animal cruelty, police said in Florida.
Linda Meredith, of Loxahatchee, put the pig in the boot of her car and drove to the neighbourhood where officials were searching for the tiger shortly after she heard of its escape.
Meredith asked officers to grab the hind legs of the pig, named Baby, or twist its ears so it would squeal and attract the tiger. The officers declined her offer.
Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control Director Dianne Sauve said Meredith will be reported for transporting the pig in her boot.
“I was appalled,” Sauve said. “Carrying an animal in a trunk in 90-degree heat, where it’s probably 140 degrees inside, is not acceptable.”
Meredith said the boot of her Cadillac was air conditioned. She said she was planning to eat the pig when it is full grown.
“I can’t believe they have the gall,” she said. “I was just trying to help the tiger find his way back home.”
Following a 26-hour search, the tiger, which belonged to Sipek, who once played Tarzan, was shot dead after lunging at a wildlife officer.
