HOMES ARE being sought this week for nine pot-bellied piglets which were found abandoned on the flanks of MountLeinster and were rescued by local volunteers from South East Animal Rescue.

It is understood that the Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs, which can be kept as pets, were bred for the Christmas Market but failed to sell and were then abandoned.

The nine piglets, which are all boys and aged three to four months, are now in the temporary care of the Roche family in Clonroche where they have become media sensations, having been featured in national newspapers and on TV news slots.

The animal charity was first notified of the piglets’ presence on the mountain on Tuesday evening after two local women discovered them while walking their dogs in the area. So far they have been unable to determine how long the animals were there before being spotted.

Heather Wall of South East Animal Rescue said: “They’ll remain where they are for another week or two. We perform home checks on all potential new owners so with the level of interest that will take some time.”