Dawn and her family have decided to move rather than continue a lengthy, costly battle to keep their pet pigs. After losing the battle against the Village of Hinsdale in local court and facing a costly and draining battle in federal court, the family decided that moving to a more pig friendly home would be best for all involed. I wish Dawn, Cza Cza, Petunia and the rest of the family all the best for the future.
History
The Village of Hinsdale (in Illinois) wanted to take her pigs away, but Dawn Brandt fought back.
Brandt has 2 pot bellied pigs, Cza Cza (8 years old) and Petunia (4 years old). She was unaware of the Village law which prohibits the keeping of cattle, swine, sheep and goats, and no one complained about the pigs until the summer of 2002. The Village issued a ticket (with a fine of up to $750 attached) and sought a court order to have the pigs removed. Brandt made 2 appeals to the village to change the law, since the Illinois Department of Agriculture classifies pot bellied pigs as pets, not livestock. The Village of Hinsdale upheld their law and took Brandt to court in an effort to get the pigs removed from her property. In that case the judge could only rule whether the pigs could be removed; even if the pigs were allowed to stay the law would be unchanged and the Village could repeatedly ticket Brandt for being in violation of the law. The case has been delayed several times. In the meantime, Brandt went to a federal court to request a temporary restraining order to prevent removal of the pigs, citing a violation of her constitutional right to due process. The cases were still before the courts at the time this was written.
Oddly, the Village brought West Nile virus into the debate as well. The Village of Hinsdale's prosecutor was quoted as saying the fact that the pigs have a wading pool is worrisome given the warnings about standing water being prime mosquito breeding grounds. This is a cheap ploy to garner support by capitalizing on fear over West Nile virus. I don't mean to minimize the risks of West Nile virus, but all standing water (wading pools, birdbaths, dog bowls, etc) should be emptied regularly to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.
Battles over whether pot bellied pigs are pets or livestock are not uncommon. Sometimes the myths and misconceptions about pot bellied pigs can be refuted and it becomes clear that these pigs are in fact pets and family members. Sometimes, local government continues to claim that a "pig is a pig" and therefore continue to lump pot bellied pigs in with livestock. It is a shame that these creatures, which are intelligent and very trainable, continue to be misunderstood and subject to livestock zoning and laws.