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An avid animal rights activist filmed himself driving away with a stolen pig in the footwell of his car as Elvis played on his radio.

The theft was posted on YouTube and Facebook, before landing Wesley Omar in the dock at Leicester Crown Court.

The 23-year-old, who lost his investment broking job as a result, pleaded guilty to theft of the three-month-old pig in July last year.

Footage of the incident was also shown to the judge, who sentenced him to a 12-month community order with 100 hours of unpaid work.

Speaking after the hearing, Omar, of King Edwards Way, Edith Weston, Rutland, said he made the film to encourage people to question the need for eating meat.

He chose Belmont Farm, in Pickwell, near Melton, because it was local and he wanted to see how they operated.

The pig he stole is now named Wilbur and is happily living at an animal sanctuary.

A subsequent video clip of Omar visiting Wilbur at his new home went viral, after American musician, Moby, shared it.

What the video said

During the court hearing, James Bide-Thomas, prosecuting, said it was only when the farmer was shown the YouTube footage of the theft that it was reported.

Thousands of pounds have now been spent upgrading security on the premises.

The video begins with Omar saying he wants to “check out how brilliant their meat is” and invites viewers to “take a look for yourselves.”

He claimed the pigs were in filthy and cramped conditions with “nothing to burrow in” and just “a little chain to play with.”

Omar can be heard repeatedly apologising to the animals for their plight and describing them as “intelligent” and “innocent” beings.

He told the camera: “It’s so heart-breaking to see individuals in these sort of conditions.”

He also recited a poem about animal suffering.

'Elvis calmed him'

Omar, a former meat-eater who turned vegan three years ago, is seen in the footage taking the pig across fields to his car and driving away with it, whilst playing Elvis Presley’s I Just Can't Help Believing on the radio.

Outside court, Omar who was accompanied by friends and fellow activists, said: “The pig I took was grunting a bit in the car and needed calming down, so I put the radio on and it seemed to work.

(Image: Wesley Omar)

“I wasn’t planning to steal him, it just happened at the last minute and I took the nearest pig – I couldn’t take them all.

“I know I broke the law, which was wrong, but at least I saved a life.

“I rang someone I knew at a sanctuary and took the pig straight there – I didn’t take it home, my mother would have had a fit.”

What the judge said

Sentencing, Judge Nicholas Dean QC said: “I accept you were doing it for a cause you believe in, but to act unlawfully for a cause is a criminal offence.

“You may feel you achieved something by the video being aired in this court and the publicity.”

The judge said Omar was entitled to express his beliefs but not through criminal activity, which interfered with the rights of the farmer, who had incurred loss through the £6,000 cost of upgrading security.

He told Omar: “Your acts were extremely childish.”

(Image: Wesley Omar)

The defence statement

James Armstrong-Holmes, mitigating, said: “His intentions were somewhat humane.

“The pig is at a sanctuary and will live its life fully.

“It can’t be taken back as there’s a potential risk of contamination.

“He lost his job as an investment broker.

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“He now plans to study psychology at the University of Derby.

“He doesn’t intend to do anything like this again and intends to focus on his studies.”

In 2011 Trading Standards prosecuted Belmont Farms Ltd, which was fined several thousands of pounds for what was described as “a generally lax regime” for assessing and medically treating injured pigs in the farm’s hospital pens.