No, this isn’t a story about a Victorian Police Officer that was caught jaywalking. A giant pet pig named Grunt has been banned from walking the streets of his hometown Wangaratta, and his owner is facing an $806 fine if Grunt puts a trotter out of line.
Matthew Evans, Grunt’s carer, received a notice from Wangaratta Council, which stated that walking his pet pig on a lead on the council-owned streets breached its ‘‘community amenity’’ law. The law states that people can not “unreasonably interfere with others’ enjoyment of council land or act in a way that endangers them.”
So you’re probably wondering how exactly Grunt, a harmless, gorgeous, 300-kilo pig is endangering and interfering with others enjoyment. Rumour has it that the naughty pig has a penchant for knicking food from unsuspecting children, and running amuck in Wangaratta Common park — an incident that resulted in council officials attempting to contain the beast for hours.
‘‘While we understand the angst about this issue, council needs to put community safety first,’’ a council spokesman shared.
‘‘The owner has not been asked to put down the pig, but has been asked to contain it to his property and not walk the pig in on council property in Wangaratta.
“If it was a dog that had raised the same level of community concern, council would have been notified and required to act.
‘‘Council understands the bonds that exist between people and their pets and do not wish to separate the owner from Grunt but just ask that the pig be exercised in areas away from members of the public.
‘‘We wish no harm to Grunt but have an obligation to protect our community.’’
Mr. Evans took to Facebook, posting for a call of help on Grunt’s page to find a place to walk Monsieur Porky. This elicited a strong reaction from the community, inciting hundreds of messages of support.
https://www.facebook.com/GruntTheePig/photos/a.1924491301166486/2381239642158314/?type=3&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARCJUVa0g1_cp8tz541KYkbXPZQYbRkgT0muMrlFB4U19kOLKRBnI10t8sRhehXHjYmsvc_KBCLS6ktgSeREHGTBy4-v5BXIiove3GmgbFC2hTLeVelEDGDBadSGiM8TniKlp7hlIzSsP-vkZsHk62J8odU1xwyOpp0CgIpnOPRjsIassoCZ7dyG0PjZ39d3AFZuxXIag8D_aCD0JcxBdAcfhLJJV0adirkTrj8EsiND6lNcjNlXRDO6p1Xsi-6zqsw4PFnnA4HyGyU0jPLiNsCO9ajULPaysDqi2XmgRg4nC_-e8Je1hhE0Ocz7Sj9ID0z-uXT81AuzBSlEPELlKTeGgCGy&__tn__=-R
