Sentence For Man Who Stole And Killed Pet Pig To Win Hunting Contest Draws Backlash

Eddie was a "treasured pet" at a Maui animal sanctuary before he was slaughtered and submitted to a hunting competition — where his killers won first prize.

One of two Hawaii men accused of stealing and killing a pet pig to cheat in a hunting contest has been sentenced, prompting criticism from animal advocacy groups that say his punishment doesn’t reflect the seriousness of the crime.

Jayden Jarnesky-Magana, 19, was sentenced Wednesday to one night in jail and four years of probation after pleading no contest to charges of animal cruelty, theft and property damage, Hawaii News Now reported.

Prosecutors said that Jarnesky-Magana and 20-year-old Krys-Ryan Saito Carino, who has not yet faced trial, stole a 250-pound male pig named Eddie from his pen at animal sanctuary Kitty Charm Farm in Haiku last year and killed him. They presented Eddie at a local feral pig hunting competition and won, walking away with a $1,000 prize.

Kitty Charm Farm founder Sarah Haynes adopted Eddie after he was found running loose covered in scars, leading rescuers to believe he had been used to train hunting dogs, she told local news station KHON2.

“I adopted him and built a big enclosure and a house and a pool and all sorts of stuff,” she said. “And I promised him a good life and that I would keep him away from that kind of treatment.”