Mini-pigs could be considered “pets” not “livestock” in Pasco

Mini-pigs considered "pets," it is an idea the Pasco City Council will hear Monday but not without hearing several concerns from neighboring cities and animal control.

Community Development Director Rick White says about two months ago a community member wanted the ordinance to be changed allowing mini-pigs to be considered "pets," meaning they could live on properties with less than a half-acre.  Currently, those breeds of pigs are considered livestock and only allowed on a minimum of 22,000 sq. ft. lot.

"The animal control agency for the Tri-Cities has thrown out some cations, first of all many people don't know what they are buying when they buy a mini-pig and secondly, there are other considerations such as licensing and vaccinations," says White.

The city says miniature pigs are recognized and registered by the American Mini Pig Association, with the most common breed of a potbelly pig. They are typically about 50 to 150 pounds and according to the American Mini Pig Association, pigs seem to have the best behavioral traits when they are spayed or neutered.

Both Kennewick and Richland currently qualify "mini-pigs," as livestock.

In the city council agenda, the Tri-City Animal Control wrote, "My biggest concern on allowing pigs in the ordinances is that we do not have a place to house them in the event we need to. When taken proper care of they can be a wonderful pet but they do get large and can create quite a mess in a yard."

The city of Kennewick said, "We’ve had a few requests to have mini-pigs or pot-bellied pigs as pets in the last 2 years and we’ve denied them all. We have continued to classify all pigs as farm animals so they are only permitted in our lowest intensity residential zone provided that the parcel is 30,000 sq. ft. or larger, then only 1 per ½ acre is permitted. Mini-pigs generally grow to be over 100 lbs and that most of the time the ones that are sold as “mini-pigs” are just baby pot-bellied pigs that grow to be fairly large, just not as large as a typical farm pig."

The city of Richland said," We have no ordinances specific to mini-pigs or pigmy goats. Based on definitions in Title 7 & 23 we classify all goats and pigs as livestock and limit them to Ag zones. The issue of mini-pigs should be addressed carefully because I understand that many people offer mini-pigs for sale which are not truly of a mini breed. People buy them, get them home, feed them and before long they have a full-sized hog living in their home. The large pigs get aggressive and destructive. It would be difficult to know if the piglet you are buying is actually of a miniature variety."

Here is the full ordinance  at the Pasco City Council website.