Three piglets stolen from art exhibit where they were meant to starve to death

The three little pigs were rescued from the big bad wolf.

Three piglets that were left to starve to death as part of a shocking art exhibit in Denmark have been stolen and saved from their horrific fate thanks to a 10-year-old girl begging her father to come to their rescue.

Artist Marco Evaristti opened the “And Now Your Care?” exhibit on Sunday in Copenhagen to “wake up the Danish society” to the cruel treatment of factory-farmed pigs in the nation that is one of the world’s largest pork exporters.

To make his point, the native Chilean constructed a cage of hay and shopping carts, trapping a trio of adorable piglets inside with the express purpose of allowing them to starve to death. 

But the tiny pigs have been given a second chance at life after the artist’s friend, Caspar Steffensen’s conscience prevailed over the unsavory demonstration.

Steffensen said his 10-year-old daughter begged him to “make sure the piggies won’t die.”

So the big-hearted dad teamed up with the animal rights group De Glemte Danske to steal the animals even if it meant betraying his friend.

“When I was approached by an activist to help free the animals, I let them into the gallery secretively on Saturday,” Steffensen admitted to the Associated Press.

The pigs, named Simon, Lucia, and Benjamin, were then absconded from their makeshift torture chamber and taken to a safe location by De Glemte Danske.

“On Saturday morning, we were contacted by one of Evarsitti’s colleagues, who informed us the pigs could be picked up before 11 o’clock on the same day,” the statement from the activist group posted Tuesday read.

The group said they ensured that no property was stolen and no further crimes were committed during the act — going so far as to record the swine swindling and proactively call Copenhagen police. 

Steffensen added that he was not planning on telling his friend about his involvement of the purloined piglets, but was forced to after De Glemte Danske made a statement online Tuesday.

Evaristti was surprised to find out his friend was part of the jailbreak, but was able to find a silver lining.

“I called up police on Saturday to report the piglets stolen and I had to shut down the entire exhibition because of that — so I was very disappointed when Caspar told me on Tuesday that he was involved in the theft,” Evaristti said.

“But then I thought about it for a few hours and realized that at least this way the piglets would have a happy life,” the artist reflected.

Several animal rights groups vociferously voiced their opposition to the avant-garde exhibition when it was first announced — while acknowledging the truth of its underlying message.

“We completely understand the indignation [of Evarstti],” Birgitte Damm, spokesperson for Animal Protection Denmark, said last week. “But we do not agree that three piglets, three individual living beings, should be starved and prevented from drinking until they die from it. It is illegal and it’s abuse of the animals.”

About 25,000 piglets die each day on Danish farms from starvation because sows are bred to have litters of 20 piglets while only being equipped with 14 teats, The New York Times reported, citing Animal Protection Denmark.

Evaristti says he is conceiving a new way to revive the exhibit, telling the AP that next time he will steal dead piglets from meat processing plants.

Denmark produced roughly 28 million pigs annually from 5,000 pig farms, according to the Danish Agriculture and Food Council. About 90% of those pigs are exported out of the country, accounting for more than 5% of total exports, making the industry vital for the Danish economy.