Mother pig and piglets enjoy outside freedom after being rescued from slaughter

This mom and her babies were given a second chance when they were about to be sent to slaughter by the only home they had ever known.

Hope Apple Blossom and her six 3-week-old piglets were destined for the slaughter house after the farm decided they no longer wanted to keep pigs. Fortunately, Viva! and Dean Farm Animal Sanctuary caught wind of the plan.

In a video shared to YouTube by Viva!, the sweet little family can be seen enjoying their first taste of freedom at the Dean Farm, playing outside for the first time since they were rescued in February 2017.

While Hope was a little more nervous about emerging from the barn, her little piglets were more than happy to check out their new home, playfully approaching their rescuer.

Eventually, mom emerged from her hiding spot, realizing that she and her babies were finally in a safe environment where they would be able to play freely.

The piglets were happy to have the space to run for the first time, and were pleased as punch to receive some loving scratches behind the ears from the humans on the farm.

After a few weeks on the farm, mom and her babies would run outside the moment the doors were opened for them. Not only that, but if Hope called her babies to her side they obligingly complied to her calls.

Hope had clearly grown used to her new home, as the video also showed her gayly frolicking about in an open field with her little ones.

The lovely little family could even be seen running along the fence where the horses are kept, fascinated by their much taller neighbors who seemed equally enthralled by them.

Hope had lost her previous litter of piglets to her former farm, as they were taken away from her shortly after birth to be fattened up for meat.

The Dean Farm Trust is now looking for donations to try and help sustain Hope and her little ones.