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Prisoners are accused of eating guinea pigs they took from an animal shelter in Australia.
The abandoned pets had been living at a shelter in Perth, Western Australia, when the inmates allegedly decided to turn some of them into food.
Now the Department of Corrective Services is investigating the ‘disturbing’ allegations, ABC News reports.
The low-security prisoners had been doing supervised work in the community as part of the Wooroloo Prison Farm’s Section 95 programme when the incident happened, it is thought.
The investigation was launched after a prison worker found several guinea pig carcasses stored in a shed outside the facility’s perimeter, Western Australia’s Corrective Services Commissioner Brad Royce said.
He told Nine radio: ‘They didn’t get them into the prison, they have an external area where we maintain tool sheds, things like that for working in the community.’
The prisoners were reportedly told at the shelter that the guinea pigs are ‘quite tasty,’ leading them to slaughter the animals so that they coudl be cooked at the prison.
Royce said: ‘Eating guinea pigs is a surprise, but any of my Section 95 prisoners, we don’t encourage them eating offsite or give them anything.
‘In this case there was a deal done, obviously, that will come up in the investigation.’
All Section 95 programmes have been paused while officials carry out the investigation.
Royce said in a statement: ‘These allegations are disturbing, and I have asked for an investigation into the actions of Section 95 prisoners and their supervision.’
Guinea pigs are a popular pet in the UK. The animal, which is classed as a rodent, can live up to seven years. Their diet consists of timothy, grass, carrots and spinach.
Despite their cuddly look, guinea pigs are often abandoned by their owners.
More than 1,600 guinea pigs were abandoned between 2021 and the end of August 2023, according to the RSPCA.
One animal was found at Canning Town Underground station in London.
The pet, which was nicknamed DiscoPig, was discovered sitting in a cage with a note saying ‘I need a new owner.’
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