Politician thanks 'retiring' cafe pig in parliament
A NSW politician has paid tribute to the retiring four-legged mascot of an inner-city Sydney cafe who rose to social media fame after he was “pig-napped” five years ago.
Australia’s Insta-famous pig is retiring from his city sty and heading for “greener pastures”, going out with a seven-week celebration in his honour.
After the “7 weeks of Kevin” celebration at The Grounds of Alexandria, the beloved animal will take up a new residence at a farm in rural NSW.
The send-off caught the attention of Sydney MP Ron Hoenig who addressed the hog’s retirement in a speech on Wednesday.
“I pay tribute to Kevin Bacon, the Piggy Prince of The Grounds of Alexandria, who is retiring from his position as the porcine mascot of the cafe this month,” he said to a room of amused politicians.
“After many years as a social media icon in Sydney’s south, Kevin is hanging up his trotters and heading off to a farm in Minimbah, not to become sausages and bacon, but to enjoy a well-earned retirement.”
In his address, Mr Hoenig told how Kevin shot to international fame in 2013 when he was pig-napped and turned up safe and sound in Victoria a few weeks later, and “has hogged the limelight ever since”.
He closed his speech by saying: “Congratulations on your retirement, Kevin. I wish you all the proverbial happiness of a pig in mud.”
A post shared by The Grounds (@thegrounds) on Jul 13, 2018 at 2:09am PDT
The cafe described its “7 Weeks of Kevin” as “a celebration of all he’s given to The Grounds of Alexandra and his retirement to greener pastures”.
“Kev’s abduction went national and went viral, many thinking it was such a ridiculous occurrence that we’d staged the whole fiasco,” the cafe said.
“We placed a reward for his return, and two weeks later the big guy found himself at a Victorian veterinary clinic, sick-as-a-hog after being bitten by a snake and almost leaving us for good.
“But, with the classic Kevin Bacon resolve, he knew he had more to give and returned to The Grounds in a blaze of glory.”
The party will conclude on Sunday, marking Kevin’s last day at the cafe.
