Memorandum

City of Lawrence

City Manager’s Office

 

TO:

David L. Corliss, City Manager

 

FROM:

Cynthia Wagner, Assistant City Manager

 

CC:

Diane Stoddard, Assistant City Manager

Chad Sublet, Staff Attorney

 

DATE:

December 19, 2011

 

RE:

Review of Animal Ordinance:  Potbellied Pigs

 

 

A request has been received to review the existing City Code to remove the prohibition of potbellied pigs.  Staff has met with an attorney working with the individual who is making the request as well as the Director of the Humane Society and spoken to staff in the state veterinarian’s office and the Kansas Animal Health Division of the State Department of Agriculture regarding public health and safety issues of changing the existing Code.  Additionally, staff has researched the requirements or restrictions for keeping of pot-bellied pigs in other area communities.

 

Existing Code

Chapter 3 of the City Code provides for the regulation of animals.  Section 3-103 states “It shall be unlawful for any person(s) to own, within the city limits, any animal except as excluded in Section 3-104. (Ord. 6389)”    Those animals excluded in Section 3-104 generally are domesticated animals.  The Code was last amended in 2009 to allow for the keeping of domesticated hedgehogs and to add a section to allow the keeping of ducks and female chickens.

 

Review of Other Cities Regulations

Staff has reviewed animal regulations in Lenexa, Olathe, Overland Park, Shawnee, Manhattan, Salina, Topeka and Kansas City, Missouri.   Three communities, Manhattan, Salina and Topeka do not allow pot-bellied pigs in the city. 

 

Kansas City, Missouri allows any potbellied pig acquired prior to December 1, 1995.  However, newly acquired Vietnamese potbellied pigs shall not be kept, maintained, pastured or fed within 200 feet of the nearest portion of any building in any way used by human beings, other than the dwelling occupied by the owner/keeper of any such animal.

 

Lenexa, Olathe, Overland Park and Shawnee all allow the keeping of one Vietnamese potbellied pig.  However, all communities place some type of requirements for the keeping of the animal, including:

·         Ability to prove purebred lineage

·         Animal must weigh less than 80 pounds

·         Animal must be spayed or neutered

·         Animal must have undergone a blood test to show the animal is free from pseudorabies (caused by a herpes virus)

·         Animal is not maintained as a food source

·         Animal must be registered and licensed with the city

 

Permit fees range from $50 to $750 in these communities, with the average fee around $100 to $150, primarily dependent upon the size of the lot. 

 

Discussions with Animal Health Professionals/Humane Society

Generally speaking, the professionals contacted regarding the keeping of potbellied pigs agreed that if the City wished to amend its Code, the requirements imposed by other communities are appropriate to maintain the health and safety of the human and animal population of Lawrence.

 

Weight and breed restrictions are acknowledged to ensure that a feral or other potentially dangerous or infected animal would not be allowed to be kept within the City.  While pseudorabies does not impact humans or horses, it can be fatal to dogs, cats and other domesticated animals.

 

The veterinarian with the Kansas Animal Health Division stressed that, purebred potbellied pig or not, the animals are still classified as livestock.  While there is not a large threat of disease, there is still a remote chance of the spread of the H3N2 influenza virus.  This is more common in a herd setting and would not be likely with the keeping of a single pig.  He did caution that the animals are swine and as such do like to burrow and can escape from fencing quite easily.  It is recommended that fencing be required and that a leash would not be sufficient to contain an animal.  If at large, a potbellied swine would be classified as feral swine and would be regulated by state laws against feral swine. 

 

Policy Considerations

Should the City Commission desire to change the City Code to allow for the keeping of potbellied pigs, it is strongly recommended that the stipulations outlined above, including licensure, be included.  Appropriate monitoring and management of these policies would be required, adding new responsibility to city staff.