By Canadian Press

Owners of Montreal pig named Babe won’t be forced to give him up

Apr 30, 2018 | 12:00 PM

MONTREAL — Babe the pig can rest easy.

The 27-kilogram porker will not be getting evicted from the east-end Montreal condo he shares with his owners and their 11-month-old daughter.

Mario Ramos and his wife, Sara-Maude Ravenelle, received the good news Monday after a visit from Pierre Lessard-Blais, their borough mayor.

“We’re very happy and relieved with the news and I think that all owners of pigs in Montreal are going to be relieved,” Ramos, 31, said in an interview.

The couple faced the prospect of having to give up the family pet after a complaint from a neighbour prompted the city to issue a notice saying micro pigs aren’t on the list of allowable pets.

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The notice stated they had 15 days to find a solution that complied with city rules or else they would face penalties.

But Ramos said Lessard-Blais told them Monday all current owners in Montreal can keep them.

“They don’t want to create a situation where these pigs are abandoned,” he said.

Ramos added that, according to two people who raise them, there are about 50 micro pig owners in the city.

Lessard-Blais posted a photo on his Facebook page Monday showing him stroking Babe as the pig lay on a sofa. The photo also included Ravenelle and Craig Sauve, the municipal councillor responsible for animal control.

There were a number of posts on the Facebook page praising the decision, with several people pointing out Babe is “very gentle” and “very intelligent.”

He spends his days sleeping, going for walks on a leash or lounging around the condo he also shares with three cats.

Ramos also said he was told the city is working on a new animal control bylaw, with details to be announced in the coming weeks.

“But it’s not sure if they are going to just allow pigs in general in Montreal or if it’s just the current owners who get a grandfather clause,” Ramos said.

The existing bylaw was put in place by the previous administration under former mayor Denis Coderre.

In an email to The Canadian Press on Monday, the City of Montreal said it is working with its legal department to hammer out details of its policy on micro pigs that currently live in the city. It added that Montrealers who already own one can keep it, but should register it before the next animal control regulation is adopted.

Many large Canadian cities, including Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver, don’t allow pigs to be kept as pets.

Some Canadian pig owners have even gone to court to fight for the right to keep their pets.

In 2015, an Alberta family had to part with a pot-bellied pig named Eli after a judge enforced a county bylaw that considered pigs as livestock.

The director of animal advocacy at the Montreal SPCA said recently pigs are affectionate but  aren’t suitable companion animals for most people because of their needs.

“They’re extremely intelligent, extremely demanding, and they certainly require much more time, energy or commitment than dogs and cats,” Alanna Devine said in an interview.

Peter Rakobowchuk, The Canadian Press