Couple living off-grid breed guinea pigs ‘as big as rabbits’ to eat

Honey, can you pass the salt? One couple are raising a family of guinea pigs to live with them on their off-grid dream house – but they won’t reach retirement.

Dave Phillips and his wife, Mayu, have been granted permission to raise three guinea couples so they can slaughter their offspring for food.

At a planning committee meeting, Phillips said the guinea pigs they planned to eat ‘were larger than the pet variety … similar to rabbits in terms of meat production’.

He added: ‘Humanity is living as if we have several more planet earths…we can all play our part, living sustainably and Pembrokeshire county council can play its part.’

A planning application submitted to Pembrokeshire county council shows the local couple want to develop vegetable gardens as well as raise rabbits and pigeons for food.

The couple will not need a license to slaughter the rodents as long as they own them and kill them on their property.

There are strict rules about the stunning and then killing of guinea pigs as it is illegal to cause an animal unnecessary suffering during their slaughter.

Phillips says he will continue his father’s honey business to make money when they move on to the eco-farm close to the tourist town of Tenby, south Wales.

Council members unanimously backed conditional approval of the scheme – which should bring in £14,000 by year five of the project.

Backlash

Despite it being perfectly legal to eat guinea pigs in your own home the couple are facing opposition to their plans.

A petition has already got hundreds of signatures just a day after being set up.

In a statement, the Herbivore Club say: ‘Pembrokeshire County Council has reportedly approved a One Planet Development near Jeffreyston which includes breeding guinea pigs to be killed and eaten.

‘Across Wales and the rest of the UK, guinea pigs are cared for, named, loved and grieved when they die. They should not be approved as a meat source under a planning scheme.

‘The council should reject the use of guinea pigs in this proposal immediately and make clear this will not be allowed to continue.’

The Welsh Government should also ban the breeding, killing, sale and consumption of guinea pigs for food in Wales.

Guinea pigs are a delicacy in South America with a mildly gamey flavor, stronger than chicken but not too overpowering.

Guinea pigs originated in the Andes of South America, where they had been domesticated for thousands of years.

Historical sources suggest that Elizabeth I may have kept guinea pigs, helping make them a status symbol among the upper classes.

No one is completely certain why they’re called guinea pigs. One theory is that they sold for one guinea in 16th-century England; another is that the name arose from confusion over trade routes – but they are not from Guinea nor are they pigs.