Delco Man Ups Fight With Township For Return Of His Pet Micro-Pig
RIDLEY TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) - The weeklong search for the whereabouts of a pet pig could be getting serious.
The mini-porker, picked up by Ridley Township cops after he got out of Brian Maguire's backyard, is said to be on a Reading, Pa. farm, and now Maguire is stepping up efforts to have his pet returned.
The 10-week-old, six-pound Vietnamese micro potbellied pig is named "Steve."
Police picked him up and refused to return him to Maguire, citing a prohibition on farm animals, and shipped him off.
Maguire insists that Steve is a pet, not a farm animal, and cites Pennsylvania law to prove it, pointing out that he bought the animal in a pet shop.
"The (Pennsylvania) Department of Agriculture states that if you paid tax on this animal when you buy him, he's a pet. They only tax pets; they don't tax livestock or farm animals," Maguire says.
Ben Simmoneau reports...
And he argues that the township's prohibition and permit requirements cover only farm animals.
Maguire and his girlfriend are now selling t-shirts on Facebook to help pay for a lawyer. What had been a willingness to find Steve a new home, they say, is turning into a quest to get him back.
Township police are not returning phone calls on the matter.
Reported by David Madden, KYW Newsradio 1060
