Furious ‘vendetta’ erupts over family’s pet pot-bellied pig after neighbours claim he ‘stinks of spare ribs’

A FURIOUS vendetta has erupted over a family’s pet pot-bellied pig after neighbours claimed he stinks of “spare ribs.” Michelle Repper, 46, received a complaint from a neighbour over the odour of her seven-year-old Juliana pot-bellied pig Jack earlier this month. Michelle said her pet pig Jack wasn’t going anywhere despite complaints from her neighbours Credit: Kennedy News She has lovingly raised the boar in her garden ever since taking him in in 2019 Credit: Kennedy News Michelle adopted Jack seven years ago after her friends mistook him for a micro pig. She has lovingly raised the boar – who has grown to an impressive size – in her garden ever since taking him in in 2019. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! The complaint from her neighbour comes just a year after Michelle received a letter from South Holland District Council outlining an odour and nuisance complaint relating to Jack. Council workers have previously visited Michelle’s home on two occasions and found “no issues”, however. Teaching assistant Michelle believes her neighbour has a ‘vendetta’ against Jack Credit: Kennedy News Michelle said council workers visited their home on two occasions and found ‘no issues’ Credit: Kennedy News Michelle considered the matter resolved until neighbours began lodging further complaints against her pet earlier this month. When the mum-of-three received another unexpected council complaint on Monday, July 13, regarding Jack’s smell she was stunned. She says it remains unclear if it is the same neighbour who complained previously. Now, teaching assistant Michelle believes the neighbour has a “vendetta” against Jack and intends to see him banished from her home. Most read in The Sun Hitting back in the aftermath of the complaint, Michelle claimed: “They want Jack gone, but he isn’t going to go.” Michelle, from Spalding, Lincolnshire, continued: “We’ve not heard anything at all [since the original complaint]; then on Monday when I got home, we had received another letter. “This time it was just about the smell. I thought ‘it’s starting again’, it’s just come out of the blue. “Obviously, we can’t walk around with a net waiting for him to poo, it’s not a constant smell. “We’re cleaning it up literally every other day, the smell goes away instantly. “You might get a whiff when we’re changing the hay or something, unless we’re nose blind to it, but no one else says anything. Michelle took Jack in believing he was a micro pig Credit: Kennedy News and Media Michelle received a letter from South Holland District Council outlining an odour and nuisance complaint last year Credit: Kennedy News “He isn’t noisy or smelly, he just sunbathes all the time. “The only other thing I can think of about the smell is that obviously pigs don’t sweat so we have to hose him down. “And when we’re hosing him down he does smell a little bit like pork spare ribs, but that lasts a couple of seconds and I don’t think they’d be able to smell it. “Other neighbours have walked past and said they can’t smell anything. “It’s just annoying. It’s not like we’ve had him for a week, we’ve had him for seven years, so why now?” According to Michelle, the council is welcome to come over any time to take a sniff of Jack themselves. She insists that the family has “nothing to hide.” Michelle said: “They want Jack gone, but he isn’t going to go. There’s no reason for him to go, he’s clean, he’s not mistreated. “We would fight tooth and nail for him, it’s just a waste of council money. “I think they have a vendetta against him or they’re just jealous because they want one. I don’t know what their problem is. “Rather than them come around and actually talk to us, they’ve decided to go down that channel. “The council is welcome to come around whenever they want, we have nothing to hide “All the neighbours have their windows and doors open so he can’t smell that bad. “The council did everything that they needed to last time and they didn’t find anything wrong. “Hopefully, and probably, it will be the same again this time.” South Holland District Council confirmed a complaint had been made in relation to odour and a letter has been sent to the owner. A spokesman said the council has a statutory duty to investigate and will be taking steps to monitor the situation. Comment now