Pigging Out in Vermont

Vt. town says woman's pigs in home must go

Jan 06 2013 

ESSEX, Vt. (AP) — A Vermont woman considers her pigs to be pets, but town officials say they're farm animals and have no business living in a residential neighborhood.

The zoning board in Essex has given Florence Gruber and Alan Tsefrekas until Jan. 22 to remove an estimated 30 to 40 miniature potbellied pigs from their home.  It is estimated that the combined weight of the pigs in the Gruber-Tsefrekas home is 2500 pounds.

Gruber told the board Thursday that her pigs use litter boxes and that the adult animals weigh 50 to 100 pounds. There was no indication of the quantity of pig poop generated daily by the porkers nor how and where it is disposed of.  Gruber's given the pigs names like Larry, Nadia, Olive and Snow White Sleepy Girl.

The Burlington Free Press (http://bfpne.ws/10Yf9nr ) reports that neighbors told the board that the pigs must go.

Gruber says the pigs are up for adoption.