ST. HELENS, Ore. -- A man who shot and killed a farm pig with a bow and arrow in St. Helens has been arrested.
George Bainbridge, 54, has been charged with two counts of first-degree animal abuse and one count of second-degree criminal mischief. He was lodged at the Columbia County Jail.
On Monday, the pig had wandered next door onto Bainbridge's property from its home at a St. Helens animal sanctuary.
On Tuesday, Bainbridge told KGW that DJ the pig was destructive and threatening.
“There it was, about 40 feet from me, and I shot it,” said Bainbridge. “It shouldn’t have been here. It should have been contained at home.”
DJ’s owners at the Baxter Pig and Farm Animal Sanctuary are devastated by the loss.
“I can’t explain why someone would do what he did,” Michelle Fudge-Snow said on Tuesday. “He meant the world to us. He mattered.”
Bainbridge and Fudge-Snow have a history together. They have a daughter together, but their relationship deteriorated with a custody battle.
Fudge-Snow said Bainbridge is bitter. Bainbridge said this is about his neighbors controlling the animals.
An investigation by the Columbia County Sheriff's Office is ongoing.