WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) -- The Wausau Public Health & Safety committee did not approve a potential ordinance to allow miniature pigs as pets within city limits.
On Monday evening at their monthly meeting, the Public Health and Safety committee discussed potentially letting citizens keep miniature pigs as pets. The ordinance was suggested by the city's humane officer who had already encountered citizens keeping pigs as pets in their work.
Discussion on the item was fairly short, as all five committee members noted they had received only negative feedback on the proposal. Many citizens were concerned that if pigs were allowed as pets, what farm animals would be allowed in the city next. Committee member Pat Peckham even went so far as to say it would be a disgrace to the community if the ordinance was passed.
Committee Chair Lisa Rasmussen explains some of the negative feedback council members were receiving and how it mirrored the urban chicken ordinance passed in July of 2017. "The first time Wausau considered an urban chicken ordinance there was an awful lot of public pushback. And that's what's happening with this miniature pig thing too. The community clearly doesn't support it. The pushback has been very negative to having those animals. I think they view them as farm animals and you know just not something that should coexist in an urban setting."
Along with the negative feedback, the committee also had concerns that passing the ordinance would condone certain poor breeding practices commonly found with miniature pigs. Rasmussen describes the breeding practices that lean toward dishonesty.
"A lot of times miniature pigs that people think they're buying aren't. And so because those animals can be bred at a really young age, people breed them prematurely. And then when people go to buy the young ones they will say, well look how small the parents are. And realize they weren't fully grown to begin with. So when that animal matures it is way more than the owner bargained for."
While the item did fail Monday night, Rasmussen says it is possible an ordinance for miniature pigs could be passed in the future. "Sometimes it's just a matter of whether or not the community and other communities in Wisconsin are ready for that type of process. And this one it seems that we are not."
The measure failed unanimously 0-5 when voted on by members. The committee also heard two hearings for appeals of dangerous animal declarations, one of which was reversed and the other was upheld.
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