Owners Move Eli Out Of City

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Owners Move Eli Out Of City

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Owners Move Eli Out Of City

Star Telegram
August 20, 2001

The owners of the potbellied pig say they plan to move, too, rather than give up their 175-pound pet.

Hurst - Eli the Vietnamese potbellied pig hit the road Saturday night.

His owners, tired of pig politics and media exposure, said they may soon follow.

After racking up hundreds of dollars in fines and losing an election campaign to keep the pig at their house, Cynthia and Tim Wynne have conceded defeat and moved Eli to a friend's residence 25 miles northwest of Hurst.

Cynthia Wynne said she did not want the city to take her 175-pound pet. Her husband, Tim Wynne, said he did not want the city to keep taking his money.

"I have already spent over $3,000 fighting this, and my finances have run out." he said. "I don't have the money to fight them."

The Wynnes say they plan to move to an unincorporated area of East Texas in six months to a year.

"I will never move to another city." Tim Wynne said. "I want to go where there aren't restrictions of any kind - where I could have an elephant out there if I wanted."

Last week, a Municipal Court jury found Cynthia Wynne guilty of violating a city animal control ordinance that bans livestock, including pigs, on lots smaller than 40,000 square feet. The Wynne's property is 9,108 square feet.

Wynne, who has owned Eli since 1994, contends that the ordinance is vague in its description of livestock. Eli is a pet, not livestock, she said.

Wynne's fines could have exceeded $2,000 for two citations she received in July. The jury fined her $250 for each violation, plus court costs.

Her attorney, Lorin M Subar of Dallas, has 10 days to file an appeal, but the family said Sunday that they have given up and will not appeal.

"We had already decided before the hearing Tuesday that if we did not win, he would have to be moved this weekend," Cynthia Wynne said.

The move ends Wynne's yearlong effort to keep Eli after her neighbor, Roberta Womack, told Hurst officials about the pig.

Wynne asked the City Council last year to allow Eli to stay at her house. When that failed, she campaigned to change the ordinance during the May election. But 66 percent of 1,821 Hurst voters rejected her request to designate potbellied pigs as exotic pets rather than livestock.

Councilman Henry Wilson said Cynthia Wynne should have removed the pig long ago.

"I think it's good she decided to finally obey the law and adhere to our ordinance, and I hope the Eli situation is over," he said. "All's well that ends."

Councilman Richard Ward called the episode "tragic" and said he is disappointed that officials could not find a way to keep Eli in town.

By Ben Tinsley