Wausau nixes pet pig policy

By Shereen Siewert

WAUSAU — On Monday, members of the city’s public health and safety committee unanimously voted down a proposed ordinance to allow “miniature” pet pigs within city limits, an issue brought forth by a Wausau resident.

The committee first reviewed the subject in September but took no action. Instead, members asked staff to research and explore the possibility of allowing such animals within city limits in the future. The animals are currently illegal to own in Wausau.

The proposed ordinance sought to create a licensing procedure for legally owning pet pigs and establishing a $35 annual fee with a one-pig-per-household limit.

Ashley Bishop, the city’s humane officer, told the committee in September that she has already received reports of the animals living in Wausau without being licensed.

Breeding and keeping pigs as pets has really only become a phenomenon over the past four decades or so. Pigs are, as breeders claim, very clean and intelligent animals. They can form close bonds with people and be very affectionate and playful. They can even be clicker trained to learn basic training cues and tricks. People are often pleasantly surprised by just how smart they are and how unique each pig’s personality is.

But animal advocates say there’s no such thing as a “miniature pig.”

To keep the animals’ size down, many breeders have been inbreeding and underfeeding their pigs, telling buyers that piglets are actually adults, or passing off commercial pigs originally intended for food as a smaller breed of pig.

Melissa Susko, executive director of PIGS Animal Sanctuary, said this works because pigs can breed as early as six weeks of age. Breeders then point to a piglet’s parents to show how tiny they are.