Limerick butchers plea for safe return of Pete the pig

'Pete the Pig 'with 'Billy the Butcher' outside O'Connell Butchers

PEOPLE who believe that pigs don’t fly should have been in Little Catherine Street last week when an iconic carving took flight in broad daylight.

O’Connell Butchers has had the Pete the Pig carving outside its door for more than 40 years.

He was even dressed up as an elf last Christmas in keeping with the Billy the Butcher statue that was dressed as Santa beside him.

But last week someone brazenly walked away with the statue and O’Connells are now offering a reward for its return.

Shop manager Anton Togher told the Limerick Post: “We won’t ask any questions if he is returned to us. We don’t care if the person returning him says they found him abandoned in a lane – we just want him back.”

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The model, which weighs around 25kg, was taken by a thief or thieves on Thursday afternoon and it was believed that Pete was then bundled into a van that was parked around the corner.

“Someone else contacted us to say that a man was seen carrying Pete on the street near the railway station,” said Anton

“We don’t know why he was taken. We thought maybe someone was hoping to sell him through a car boot sale or to an antique dealer but we reckon now that with all the publicity, he may have got too hot to handle.

“We just want him back. Billy the butcher is missing him terribly.”

Anyone who has Pete or has information about where he is can just drop into the shop to claim the reward.

 

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