Grunty has been spared the chop

Grunty's owner Rosemary Upton had fought a determined battle to prevent the death sentence being carried out on the pig and 11 rare-breed sheep.

Sparing their lives, Mr Justice Harrison said the animals had shown no sign of the disease and it was sufficient if they were now monitored and tested.

The judge refused the agriculture minister permission to appeal and awarded Mrs Upton her legal costs, leaving the government with an unofficially estimated legal bill for the case of �40,000.

Before the foot-and-mouth outbreak Grunty used to accompany 54-year-old Mrs Upton, of Hill Farm, Stawley, near Wellington, Somerset, on trips to the local village.

It seems to me there is much to be said for the alternative of monitoring and blood testing

Mr Justice Harrison

Since the outbreak he has been penned in an orchard.

The judge said he had been most influenced by the scientific evidence that even if the animals turned out to be infected, "bearing in mind the number of animals and the distance they are away from neighbouring animals, there would not be a risk to neighbouring livestock".

He said he had also borne in mind that Grunty was nine days into the incubation period for foot-and-mouth, with no sign of infection, and there were only five days to go before the maximum period expired.

He said: "It seems to me there is much to be said for the alternative of monitoring and blood testing - something which Mrs Upton had offered in the first place."