More than 50 full-time and part-time employees help care for the 680 pot-bellied pigs at the Ironwood Pig Sanctuary north of Marana.
“It’s a huge undertaking,” said Mary Schanz, who, with her husband Ben Watkins, founded Ironwood Pig Sanctuary 25 years ago.
“It’s only gotten worse and worse because people continue to breed them, people continue to not separate the males from the females. I just could not have imagined this.”
Schanz said many of the pigs at the sanctuary were surrendered because HOA rules don’t allow owners to have pot-bellied pigs…