PORT ORCHARD, Wash. — A Port Orchard family came home to discover their pet pigs were being slaughtered by a butcher business.
The employees of the butcher business went to the wrong address and killed the wrong pigs.
"They were never meant to be slaughtered. They were meant to be pets," said Natalie Gray, the owner of Patty and Betty.
Gray said they were like dogs, running after their daughters and playing in the mud. They were meant to live out their days at the Gray Acres Farm.
Last Wednesday, while running an errand, Natalie's husband Nathan got a security alert that a box truck was on their property and was driving near the pig pens.
Nathan, one of his employees and Natalie rushed home to find a disturbing discovery.
"My employee walked up to me and said, 'These guys shot your pigs,'" Nathan said.
"I came around the corner, and both Patty and Betty were in the pen dead. And Betty had chains wrapped around her feet already. I called police," Natalie said.
Employees with a butcher business that also does mobile slaughter services killed Patty and Betty, but not before realizing they had the wrong address and the wrong pigs.
"He said that he thought he had been here before and his GPS must have screwed up," Nathan added. "They didn’t even knock on the door. It’s just insane."
The Grays don’t want this to happen to anyone else's animals.
Nathan and Natalie are hoping for a change in regulations and laws surrounding slaughter on private property. They believe the property owner should be present and more boxes must be checked before a slaughter occurs.
"Bottom line is, if somebody is going to come on your property with a firearm and kill your animal, you should be home," Nathan added.
They believe if more were done to ensure the company went to the correct address, Patty and Betty would still be alive.
"I’m just in disbelief and angry that somebody can come on my property and do that with nobody home, and I can’t let that part go," Nathan said.
The WSDA Food Safety Program licenses and inspects three types of custom meat operations: custom meat facilities, custom slaughter establishments, and custom farm slaughterers.
A spokesperson with the WSDA told KING 5 they did not receive a report about this specific event, but it wouldn't be something they typically investigate anyway.
"The firm is licensed to operate a slaughter truck. The issue doesn’t sound like it was related to unsanitary practices, equipment issues, failure to affix ID tags, etc., which are things that we could cite a business for failing to comply with," the spokesperson said.
The Kitsap County Sheriff's Office did respond and take a report. That report has been sent to the Kitsap County Prosecuting Attorney's office for review.
KING 5 spoke with the owner of the business responsible for the mistake and the owner underscored how apologetic they are. He said he hopes this never happens again and that they have reviewed and changed their policies.
Adam Karp, an attorney representing the Grays, argues that the pigs, which are deemed livestock, are no different than pets.
Karp sent KING 5 a statement that read, in part:
"The law treats Betty and Patty no differently than were they Golden Retrievers or Norwegian Forest Cats, except that pigs are defined as "livestock" under certain laws. Intentionally causing physical injury to any animal without lawful justification is a felony under RCW 16.52.205(1). And there is a civil cause of action for theft of livestock under RCW 4.24.320, which allows for treble exemplary damages and attorney's fees. The elements of felony animal cruelty under RCW 16.52.205 furnish a basis to sue under the civil theft of livestock statute when the animal harmed is livestock."