Ashes pig smuggler faces cruelty charges

England’s Stuart Broad walks underneath a banner held by spectators on the first day of the series-opening Ashes test between England and Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane, Australia, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

BRISBANE, Australia—A spectator who smuggled a pig into the first day of the Ashes cricket test between Australia and England has been charged with animal cruelty.

Security guards spotted the pig wrapped in a towel and being carried in a baby harness during Thursday’s play.

A 33-year-old Australian man was arrested and charged. He will appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Dec. 12.

The pig, named Ash, is being cared for by the Brisbane chapter of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The organization’s spokesman, Michael Beatty, said the pig was “really stressed out and dehydrated.”

Police said they were unsure whether the spectator intended to release the pig onto the Gabba ground as had happened during an Ashes test in Brisbane in 1982.