Layla may be able to stay home for good.
Vernon council instructed staff Monday to develop rules that will allow Layla and other mini-pigs to be kept on residential properties.
“Times change,” said Mayor Akbal Mund of amending the current animal regulation.
“I have no problem if someone wants to keep something other than a dog or cat.”
The city’s bylaw officers instructed Coralee Carrier in mid-July that she would have to get rid of 30-pound Layla in 30 days because a noise complaint had been received.
Carrier urged council in August to let Layla remain at home.
“We are respectful of our neighbours,” said Carrier.
“She does make an oink here and there if she is excited but it’s never continuous. She is 100 per cent domesticated and would never survive on a farm.”
As part of amending the regulations, city staff will look at specific standards for care, maintenance and sanitation of mini-pigs.
“There will have to be certain conditions,” said Mund.
Staff will also develop a definition of a mini-pig, including allowable breeds and weights.
Mund isn’t concerned that permitting mini-pigs will open the door to a range of exotic animals in yards, but admits that each individual case will have to be considered.
“It’s not a lion or a tiger,” he said of a pig.
Layla can remain at home while city regulations are being developed.