Keeping Pet Pigs Out of the Pokey : Animals: Council will weigh allowing licenses for miniature swine. Planning Department strongly opposes the idea.

For years, they have lived the life of pint-size fugitives--ground-hugging outlaws trying to stay one step ahead of the authorities.

Potbellied pigs, the low riders of the swine family, were all the rage a few years ago, becoming the pets of choice for about 4,000 Los Angeles residents, including teen-age idol Luke Perry.

But someone forgot to mention that in the city of Los Angeles you cannot house a pig in your home unless you go through a long and expensive zoning variance process.

However, that may change next week when the Los Angeles City Council considers licensing pigs as exotic pets, allowing them and their owners to become legitimate in the eyes of the law. City officials are divided on the issue.

One of the leaders in the crusade to legalize the animals is Kathie Ward, who runs a potbellied pig rescue program in Northridge and owns three of them.

All are smart, clean and personable animals that should be allowed to join cats, dogs and birds in the ranks of domestic pets, Ward says.

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Ward and other pig owners have been lobbying council members in hopes of changing the law. But the pig aficionados face a tough battle because the Planning Department strongly opposes pig licensing and has convinced the council’s planning committee to recommend against it.

In a report to council members, the Planning Department has argued that potbellied pigs are a passing fad that does not warrant a change in licensing laws.

“Potbellied pigs / swine have not and do not share the same historic place and symbolic relationship with humans that cats and dogs do and should not be considered the same as these domestic animals,” the report states.

It goes on to say that such pigs can grow to 300 pounds, are aggressive and tend to have a nasty disposition. It also warns that “the health risks to humans are greater with pigs than with cats and dogs.”

The city can issue variance permits that allow pigs in homes, but approval requires a public hearing and up to $4,000 in fees to pay for the cost of notifying neighbors about the hearing.

On Nov. 21, the council’s Planning and Land Use Committee agreed with the Planning Department and voted against the licensing plan. The council is scheduled to take up the issue Wednesday.

Luckily for Ward and other pig lovers, the Department of Animal Regulation has taken up their cause by challenging the Planning Department’s report.

Gary Olsen of the Department of Animal Regulation said potbellied pigs are still a popular pet and are the subject of many articles in veterinary journals.

In addition, potbellied pigs can be kept at a trim 85 to 120 pounds with the proper diet and exercise, Olsen said in the report. As for reports that pigs have a nasty temper, he notes that there are 6,000 annual reports of dog and cat bites in the city and--so far--no pig bite reports.

Olsen also says “there is no merit or indication to the statement that health risks to humans are greater with pigs than with cats and dogs.”

If approved, a pig license would cost about $160, even though a regular dog license is only $10, a difference that also angers pig owners.