‘Myles the pig’ escapes from local auction, community helps him find a new home
Erin Insigna from the Delaware Valley Humane Society says ‘Myles the pig’ mysteriously escaped from an auction house in Unadilla, where the pig would have been sold and slaughtered. “He like mushroom pizza… He loves crackers. Anything with carbs, he loves,” said Insigna. SIDNEY (WBNG) – Local animal activists say a runaway pig was saved by community members and will have a new loving home. Insigna says she then went outside to safely capture the pig, but Myles escaped. Insigna says Myles will be heading to Vermont to meet his new family next week. “I was sitting down with my daughter and we were having dinner and someone called me and they said ‘Erin, there’s a pig running down your sidewalk,'” said Insigna. “We had room. We had the means to take care of him short term. He was neutered today. He has been de-wormed,” said Insigna. The humane society then purchased the swine from the auction home for $10 and brought him to the shelter, normally meant for cats and dogs. “He was on the run for five days. He was covering a lot of miles, which is why his name was Myles. He did kind of stay kind of in the vicinity of Unadilla.” Insigna adds that now Myles will have a new home and family in the coming weeks. After days of searching, community volunteers were able to finally capture the swift swine. Now, three weeks after the pig was saved by the shelter, Insigna says Myles has become accustomed to living at the shelter and is even learning new tricks thanks to their kennel attendant, Erik Warren. “He’s actually going to be living his life in Vermont. We have a wonderful adopter who will be giving him a wonderful loving home and he will never be on someone’s dinner plate,” said Insigna.
“They go out and collect small electronics, mobile phones, and send them to another organization which recycles them,” said education manager at the zoo, Melissa Grippin. Many electronics, including cell phones, have coltan in them. That’s a mineral typically mined from areas where gorillas live, an already vulnerable species. The campaign runs from February to April, and if you want to get involved you can reach out to Melissa Grippin. Once items are collected, shipping to the organization that recycles them is free. Contact her at (607)724-5461 ext. 235 or by email at mgrippin@rossparkzoo.com to register a team. In addition, the Binghamton Zoo will become a regular collection site, outside of the campaign. The group that collects the most items to be recycled will be invited to the zoo on World Gorilla Day in September. If there’s less of a demand for coltan, there’s a better chance for gorilla habitats in Africa. “Recycling these things helps to protect gorillas in the wild, and also the recycling also generates funds that goes directly back to gorilla conservation,” said Grippin. “Gorillas are really only found one place in the world and if we lose them, we lose them forever in that region. So it’s really important to protect the species and protect the individuals we have left in the wild.” “As a thank you, we’ll have them come in for a little guided tour and a little ceremony, thanking them for their generous collection,” said Grippin. It’s the first year the zoo is taking part, and it’s asking community groups and organizations to join too, by collecting some everyday objects. “Gorillas are incredibly endangered in the wild and the pressure is on them, particularly from mining, it’s really great so there’s a lot of issues with gorillas in the wild and their numbers have really decreased,” said Grippin. (WBNG) — The Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park is asking you to answer the call for the campaign, ‘Gorillas on the Line.’
The city of Binghamton did not respond to a request for comment. The New York State Comptroller’s Office Confirmed to 12 News an audit began last week. They say the report may take up to a year to be finalized. (WBNG) — The city of Binghamton is being audited over the Binghamton-Johnson City Joint Sewage Plant. Construction at the sewage treatment plant is still ongoing. According to the state’s website, the goal of the comptroller’s audit is to improve performance, reduce cost and contribute to public accountability.
Organizers say while they knew this year would present a challenge they still wanted to be able to put on something safe. While organizers say they were nervous, they are thrilled with the turnout and happy to see the families and children excited and getting to celebrate Halloween. BINGHAMTON (WBNG) — The Roberson Museum and Science Center held an in-person trick-or-treat today. They say they are proud of the safety measures that were enforced, which include social distancing, time ticketed reservations, mask-wearing, and having hand sanitizer readily available. Children and their families were able to explore, run around, learn, trick-or-treat, and even participate in arts and crafts.