A pig was abandoned on the aspect of a Tennessee highway in a crate that had been coated by a blue tarp and secured with zip ties, according to Heaven Despatched Farm & Rescue.

The animal rescue corporation is operating with police to examine the act of animal cruelty, the local news outlet WKRN experiences.

Under Tennessee law, “abandon[ing] unreasonably an animal in the person’s custody” is categorized as a Class E felony. If a first offense, the crime is punishable by a ban on “obtaining custody of any companion animal…for a time period of at minimum two (2) yrs from the day of conviction” and perhaps for daily life, in accordance to Michigan State University’s Animal Lawful and Historical Center.

On Saturday, Heaven Sent Farm & Rescue obtained an “SOS phone” about a pig that experienced been dumped in Lewisburg, Tennessee, the business wrote in a Facebook article