They had been companions in their twilight years, living happily together and even eating the same diet of steamed sweet potatoes.

But when Robert Skinner, 63, noticed an abscess on his pet Mr Pig’s face, he knew it was time to prepare to say goodbye.

The RSPCA had other ideas, however. Officers arrived at his house while he was out, seized the pig and put it down without informing him. They then took the animal lover and former pet shop owner to court for cruelty.

20-year-old Mr Pig was secretly put down by the RSPCA after his owner Bob Skinner was unable to care for it

Yesterday B&B owner Mr Skinner said he was selling his home in Corfe Mullen, Dorset, because he can’t bear to live there without his beloved pig.

‘Mr Pig was my only companion and they killed him without even giving me a chance to say goodbye,’ he said. ‘The RSPCA is supposed to be a charity, not police officers. They should start acting like human beings.’

Mr Pig, who was 20, is believed to have been the world’s oldest kunekune and lived on his own island connected to his owner’s £1million mill.

Magistrates in Bournemouth heard that Mr Skinner didn’t take Mr Pig to the vet with the abscess because he couldn’t come to terms with having him put down.

The pig, thought to be the oldest kunekune in the world, developed a cancerous tumour on its face (pictured)

The RSPCA had Mr Pig destroyed with Robert Skinner (pictured) only learning about the animal's fate once he was questioned by officers over alleged cruelty offences

Environment Agency staff working in the area noticed the wound and alerted the RSPCA who intervened. Officers took the pig and had him destroyed last November.

Mr Skinner said he had come home to find a piece of paper on his gatepost asking him to call the RSPCA about his pig. It was two days before he met the officer in question and broke down when told Mr Pig had been put down. He added that Mr Pig had shown no sign of being in pain.

An RSPCA spokesman said they had tried to contact Mr Skinner 24 hours before Mr Pig was destroyed on vets’ advice to relieve his discomfort.

Mr Skinner was alleged to have caused unnecessary suffering to the pig and was prosecuted by the animal welfare charity, which sought to have him banned from keeping animals.

This was rejected by magistrates after they heard how Mr Skinner had always taken good care of Mr Pig.

Retired pet shop owner Mr Skinner had given the elderly animal a nine-acre island at the back of his £1m bed and breakfast in Dorset, where he was free to roam.

The pig's presence attracted rave reviews, with one customer writing online: 'Make sure you feed the friendly if not handsome Mr Piggy'. Another wrote in a review: 'Bob is a good landlord...Mr Pig is a star.'

Matthew Knight, prosecuting for the RSPCA, said Mr Pig had cancer.

He said: ‘He [Mr Skinner] had been aware of the wound for four weeks and the only treatment had been bathing the wound.’

He added that the pig’s suffering could have been reduced by proper pain relief or avoided by a vet putting the animal down.

The RSPCA were tipped off about the animal's illness and swooped in to seize the animal from the property, without the owner's knowledge

The retired pet shop owner was so protective of his only companion that he gave the elderly animal a nine-acre island at the back of his £1m bed and breakfast in Dorset, where he was free to roam, including this sty

Edward Foster, defending, said his client had been intending to have his pet euthanised but struggled to come to terms with losing his 'only companion' but was bringing himself to the point of taking him to the vets when the RSPCA became involved, he said.

He said: 'The extraordinary thing about Mr Pig was his age. He was 20 years old. The oldest recorded kunekune pig was 19.

'The only way to get a pig to that age is by taking very good care of it. The one thing any livestock owner knows is if you do not take good care of your animals they do not reach old age.

He was an ugly old sod, always smelled bad and could be mischievous, but I really, really loved him - and so did everyone who met him Bob Skinner

'In fact it is unusual for pigs to make more than four years old because they are killed for bacon and ham.'

Mr Foster conceded his client, who owned a pet shop for 30 years, was technically in breach of animal welfare laws for not seeking veterinary advice and had therefore pleaded guilty.

But magistrates said there were no reasons to impose any ban on Mr Skinner owning animals in the future because they were satisfied there had been 'no malicious intent' on his part.

Mr Skinner was instead given a 24 month conditional discharge and ordered to pay the RSPCA's prosecution costs of £1,000, as well as a £15 victim surcharge.

Speaking after the case, Mr Skinner said: 'He was an absolutely amazing pig. He was an ugly old sod, always smelled bad and could be mischievous, but I really, really loved him - and so did everyone who met him.'

The animal was believed to be the world's oldest kunekune pig and soon became one of the star attractions among the guests at the Grade II-listed old mill cottage

The Grade II-listed bed and breakfast in Corfe Mullen, Dorset, where Mr Skinner created a nine-acre island for Mr Pig (pictured)

The decision to prosecute Mr Skinner has led to criticism, with some accusing the charity of wasting resources.

Pauline Hill posted on Facebook: 'This is way over the top, it was not necessary to prosecute. There are far worse cases that are overlooked.

'This man gave the pig a better life than most pigs get that go to slaughter and he must have been happy to live so long. I'm disappointed in the RSPCA for not having more remorse for the owner.'

Laura Appleton added: 'How unfair on a man, who clearly loved his animal, to find out in an interview with the RSPCA that Mr Pig had be put to sleep. I think that's disgusting.

RSPCA PROSECUTIONS: CHARITY ACCUSED OF 'BULLYING TACTICS' Donations to the RSPCA dropped by more than £7million last year after the charity was accused of bullying tactics in bringing prosecutions for animal cruelty. The year before, the charity had been forced to instigate an independent review of its prosecutions policy following intense criticism, including from the Attorney General. Among the many RSPCA prosecutions going through the courts each month, there are dozens of tales in which the charity appears to act out of all proportion. Last year, Dilys Hadley, from Exmouth Devon, who regularly donates to the RSPCA, was left bewildered when her cat was seized and put down because it had a bad eye. Six months later, she and her daughter were summoned to court, to answer charges of animal neglect. Ms Hadley received a conditional discharge with no restriction on keeping animals in the future. Her daughter was acquitted. The same month, the Byrnes family from Hertfordshire told of their horror that their 16-year-old cat Claude was put down, after an RSPCA inspector claimed he was too thin and had matted fur. Despite explaining that the cat was old and refused to have his fur brushed, they were threatened with prison unless they had him put down. The RSPCA then issued proceedings for cruelty, which saw Richard dragged to court, only for it to be dropped when the CPS said there was not enough evidence. The Byrnes hit out at the RSPCA for its ‘bullying tactics’ — an increasingly common complaint. Elsewhere, Diane and Dean Webb had their 33 show cats and kittens taken away after RSPCA raided their home in Barrow upon Trent, Derbyshire. The couple were prosecuted them for neglecting the animals — charges a judge rejected. The couple were forced to move abroad after receiving death threats on the internet. Advertisement

'What has the world come to when a loving owner is prosecuted despite a judge ruling he was not maliciously hurting the animal? What a complete waste of resources. The RSPCA has gone right down in my estimations.'

And Lucy Dowdall wrote: 'This is awful, that poor man not getting to say goodbye. It does seem genuinely over the top by the RSPCA.'

When contacted by MailOnline, an RSPCA spokesman said the decision had been made because the pet was 'suffering significantly'.

She said: 'It is always heartbreaking when a much-loved pet comes to the end of its life, but we all have a responsibility to our animals to care for them to their last day and get vet treatment as soon as they become poorly.

'It was obvious to anyone who saw Mr Pig that he had a horrible, painful injury - and yet he was not taken to a vet and he was left to suffer for almost a month until the RSPCA became involved.

'Mr Pig was confirmed by both the prosecution and defence vets to have been suffering significantly for three to four weeks from an untreated tumour on his face. Vets felt that, had he received treatment earlier, this suffering could have been avoided.

'However, veterinary treatment was not sought and Mr Skinner admitted causing unnecessary suffering to his pig.'

She added that the RSPCA only brings a prosecution if the evidential and public interest tests have been satisfied.

She said fewer than two per cent of investigations are put forward for a prosecution to be considered.

She said: 'In this case, there was strong veterinary evidence that the pig was suffering significantly for weeks and, given the extent of suffering, it was felt that the only option was to put this matter before the courts.

'We much prefer to help people understand and meet their animals' welfare needs than to prosecute. However, our job is to prevent and suppress cruelty and where animals suffer it can be necessary and appropriate to prosecute to prevent animals suffering in the future.'

It is thought that kunekune pigs were first brought to New Zealand in the 19th century by whalers and were swapped for goods with the Maori people.

The name kunekune was given to the hairy pigs by the indigenous tribes, which translates to 'fat and round'.

The animals were on the brink of extinction in the 1970s until a conservation programme was put in place.

Kunekunes were imported to Britain in 1992 when Zoe Lindop and Andrew Calveley heard about their endangered status and began breeding them from the UK.