ROSTRAVER, Pa. — Dozens of pigs were pulled from a home in Westmoreland County.
Earlier this week, signs were posted on the property calling it “unsafe” for human occupancy.
Neighbors say they’ve had issues for years, mostly with rats, but those rats were only part of the problem.
Officials tell Channel 11 they found forty to fifty pigs in small enclosures and spent six hours clearing the property on Thursday.
“Unbelievable. It’s unbelievable in there,” Township Manager Jeffrey Keffer told Channel 11.
Drone 11 captured law enforcement and others trying to wrangle pigs into a trailer. We could hear squeals from across the street.
“We were chasing pigs and corralling pigs. Because there were so many, we had to make multiple trips. I think there were three trailer loads,” Keffer said.
Inside the home, officials found trash all over the home, with pigs living among it.
Neighbors say the property owner, Wendi Kraemer, runs an animal rescue. It even has a website that advertises the pigs and asks for donations.
We called the number on that website, but it had been disconnected.
As far as the rats go, one neighbor told us he recently captured thirty of them. Another neighbor was setting out traps while we were there. They told us the smell has also been a major issue.
Township officials found rats, pigs, cats and dogs. All were alive.
“This was not part of the job description, but we do what we gotta do to make the residents safe,” Keffer said.
Kraemer is facing a charge of misdemeanor public nuisance. She’s due in court in July.
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