This Little Piggie.....GOT SHOT!

This giant feral pig was shot on a Pilbara, Australia, cattle station after it was spotted eating a dead cow.

The picture has been circulating on the Internet alongside claims the boar was killed at various locations across the continent. It had been written off as a hoax by many, including the local Department of Environment and Conservation, and sparked much debate when published on the Web site for newspaper PerthNow.

But The Sunday Times of Australia confirmed that the pig was shot at a Pilbara cattle station near Newman, 744 miles northeast of Perth.

Sources close to the family of the man in the photo have confirmed he is Pilbara pastoralist John Anick and the picture was taken on his property three years ago.

The family refused to talk about the giant boar, for fear that illegal pig hunters would flock to the area.

The source said the beast was eating a cow when it was first seen by workers mustering cattle in a helicopter. Mr Anick saw it again on a trip to check windmills on the property and shot it.

"I can vouch 100 percent, I don't even have to say 90 percent, that it [the photo] was taken in the Pilbara and it is who I said it is," the source said.