Letters To The Editor Re: Eli

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Letter's To The Editor - Star Telegram

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Letter's To The Editor - Star Telegram

Star Telegram
March 9, 2001

NO PIG VOTE NEEDED

I am a 42-year resident of Hurst and came here before it was a city I had to give up farm animals because of the city code.

I believe that the presence of Eli the potbellied pig is a violation of city code and that no vote on this issue is necessary.

If he is that important to his owners, they should move somewhere where it is not a code violation to own a pig.

If the City Council cannot take care of this, then it is time to consider the next election.

Lawrence Scarbro
Hurst

PIGS AS PETS

Regarding "No Pig Vote Needed" - Thank you Lawrence Scarbro for your recent thought on Eli, the registered pet pig kept as a companion pet in Hurst.

I as well left my farm animals behind when we moved to the city. As everyone knows a potbelly pig is an accepted household pet in this country as well as many others. At this time there are well over two million of them happily living with their caregivers in residential settings in the United States alone.

Yes a pig is a swine same as a dog is a canine and a cat is a feline. This classification is used for medical similarities of the species. I would not keep a hyena or jackal as a household pet, but do keep a dog, both are canines. I would not keep a lion or leopard as a pet, but we do have a cat, both are felines. I would not choose to keep a Duroc or Hampshire or Polish as a household pet, but I do choose to keep a potbelly pig as a housepet.

With market swine their lifespan is six months as opposed to a pet pig who can live up to 15 years. Market swine are fed a diet to produce a marketable product in a short period of time. This diet consists of protein in the form of animal by-products from the packing plant industry, dried blood, bone meal and even garbage that has been heated to 121 degrees. They are pumped with antibiotics and growth stimulators. Because of the meat rich diet their fecal matter has an atrocious odor and produces methane gas.

They have been bred specifically for whatever the current vogue in pork is. It might be long and lean baby back ribs or tenerloins. Potbelly pigs are not bred for consumption and are inedible as they are all fat and grizzle. They are bred as pets only. They are fed a diet to promote a healthy, long life. Grains such as rice, soy and grasses such as Alfalfa form the nucleus of their redily available potbelly pig chow. There is in some prepared Potbelly Pig chows even a yucca extract.

There is no animal protien in Potbelly Pig feed. The fecal matter and urine of potbelly pigs does not have an odor. They were initially bred as miniature zoo or exotic animals in all parts of the world. Imported into the United States in 1985 as household pets they rapidly became very popular and remain so.

Potbelly pigs do not live outside, they are house pets. They do not graze or roam so they do not require acreage. Most of the day they doze under their blankets occasionally poking around and socializing with other companion pets and their caregivers. They do not bark, harbor fleas, communicate disease to people or pets, reproduce, (all registered pet pigs are required to be neutered) attack or bite. They use the out of doors to defecate and urinate in the same spot every day at a premeditated time. They naturally select the spot farthest away and downhill of where they sleep and live.

Yes, I agree with you Mr. Lawrence Scarbro that no pig vote is needed and the entire matter has gone too far. Eli is clearly a cherised, well-cared for good citizen companion pet of the Wynnes. He is registered as a pet pig as well as initially purchased as a companion pet.

Hope I have helped everyone differentiate between "species" names and the actual names of the pets we keep, cherish and that enrich our lives.

Maryann Miller
Fort Worth, TX

HOGS IN HURST

It's obvious that local TV stations and the Star-Telegram are going to report half the story as it concerns "poor Eli," the potbellied pig in Hurst.

Hurst city employees tell me that there are an estimated 10 hogs running in the city limits. If the proposition on Hurst's May 5 ballot is passed, anyone living in the city will be allowed to keep or bring a hog into our once-reputable city, with no weight limits, distance or any restrictions placed in force.

Fortunately, this will no longer affect my lifestyle. We and our neighbors, Eli's owners, have purchased a 7-foot metal privacy fence that has been placed between our homes, greatly reducing the odor produced by a 235-pound hog.

I hope that all neighbors will be as accommodating if this proposition is approved.

In my opinion, this issue is not only a waste of taxpayers' hard earned money - it also has allowed the media to make a mockery of the Hurst City Council members.

Let's strive to keep Hurst a "quality-of-life community." Vote against Proposition 1 on May 5.

Roberta Womack, Treasurer
Hurst is for People, Not Hogs.