These three little pigs have to find a new home.
An Indiana judge last week ruled Lily Harsh, of Anderson, cannot keep her miniature pigs within the city limits of her community, The Herald-Bulletin of Anderson reported.
Madison County Circuit Court Judge George Pancol rejected Harsh’s appeal of a 2017 ruling by the Anderson Board of Zoning Appeals to deny her a zoning variance, which would have allowed her to keep the pigs at her residence, the newspaper reported.
The board votes 3-1 in August 2017 to deny the variance, The Herald-Bulletin reported.
Anderson Assistant City Attorney Paul Podlejski had argued Harsh was violating a city ordinance that prohibited livestock within the city limits, WXIN reported. Harsh countered by asserting she did not consider the pigs -- named Betty, Margie and Yoshi -- to be livestock, the television station reported.
Harsh was unavailable for comment. Her sister, Christina Sierra, told The Herald-Bulletin the pigs were special and considered pets, not livestock, by the family.
“They each have their own personality,” Sierra told the newspaper. “I’m having a hard time blanketing these animals as livestock. These are not farm animals.
“It breaks my heart that we have to come and defend our family like this. I agree livestock doesn’t belong in the city. I love them and I know she loves them.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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