EDINBURG — The Edinburg Town Council held a first reading Tuesday night of an amended ordinance that will allow pigs as pets.
The amendment to Chapter 31, Animals, Article II Pigs and Hogs, & 31-5. Prohibition of the Code of Edinburg, Virginia does not allow individuals to own pigs or hogs with the exception of three breeds — pot-bellied pigs, miniature pigs and Kunekune pigs.
In addition, pig owners will be allowed to have only two pigs at one residence. The pet pigs should spend at least four hours of the day indoors. The proposed amendment will enforce that pet pig owners provide a confined area on the owner’s property when the pig is outdoors.
Lastly, the amendment states that the pet pig at no time be allowed to roam freely within the town.
Edinburg residents Jeremiah and Ivy Bennett had asked the council at its Oct. 8 meeting to revisit its ordinance preventing pigs as pets.
Jeremiah Bennett told the council that he owned a mini pot-bellied pig. The pig, he said, causes no harm to others and stays outside during the day and comes inside of the house at night to sleep.
During a public hearing on Tuesday for the proposed amended ordinance, town residents Lavon Runion and Kathy Thompson spoke in opposition to the proposal. The Bennetts were not in attendance at Tuesday night's meeting.
Runion said she was shocked that the town council would consider the amendment. Pigs can get violent if they are not able to get enough exercise or “do not stay busy,” Runion said.
Runion said she lives across from a resident who owns a pig, two dogs and chickens.
“I can’t believe somebody is buying a house in town and wants to have all of these animals,” Runion said. “They should’ve bought a farm instead of buying a house in town, is my thought.”
Runion was also concerned with the aesthetics of the town, saying, “We talk about the beautification of our town. Well, what if there are more people who want to buy these pigs for pets and they’re going to be allowed to be outside, they’re going to have to be contained in a pen. Do we want people coming to our town driving up and down our streets and looking at pig pens?”
Mayor Dan Harshman explained that while Jeremiah Bennett brought attention to the matter, he said it has been a situation for some time. Harshman said he consulted town officials as well as Strasburg and Woodstock officials about the ordinance.
Harshman said that after consulting other officials, they came to a consensus that the three breeds listed in the amendment are pets as they are not kept for other uses like other breeds of pigs and hogs.
Vice Mayor Steven Wood wanted the amendment to limit each residence to one pig instead of two. Harshman clarified that one of the three breed of pigs is recommended to have at least two at a time, so that's why the amendment says “no more than two.”
The town council will have its second reading of the amended ordinance at its December meeting.
