‘Legalizing pigs': Tacoma to change city code to address animal overpopulation
Tacoma soon will implement changes to the city's municipal code to better address animal overpopulation, an issue that some say has overburdened organizations like the Humane Society of Tacoma and Pierce County.
The changes include higher fees for the licensing of certain pets and a new definition for 'community cats' – neighborhood cats that are cared for by the community but don't necessarily count as strays. The code update also includes changes that affect more nontraditional pets, including one that essentially legalizes domestic pig ownership so long as the pigs are licensed, spayed or neutered, microchipped and weigh under 100 pounds.
Council member John Hines, who put forward the ordinance to the City Council, said he wanted to do so after hearing from Humane Society staff that the city code on animals is outdated. He said the series of code changes that the City Council first discussed at its June 3 meeting sought to simultaneously address the outdated language while also combating animal overpopulation.
According to the city, complaints to Tacoma's 311 system related to animal issues have skyrocketed in recent years – reaching 1,467 between 2024 and 2025, compared to the 758 it received between 2022 and 2023. The proposed changes also come after the council in 2023 passed a ban on declawing.
'This is an important issue, people care about it a lot,' Hines told The News Tribune. 'We can do this and also take on some bigger issues in our city at the same time.'
He said the new community cats designation will help ease the workload for Tacoma's animal control and the Humane Society. Residents often call animal control to pick up neighborhood cats and take them to the Humane Society – but sometimes, those cats are feral or semi-feral cats that are being cared for by neighbors. They just don't always have one owner or live indoors.
The changes to the Tacoma Municipal Code would also repeal a section of the code on 'hogs.' Hines said the distinction between hogs and pigs is unclear, but the city generally has understood hogs to be pigs that weigh over 200 pounds that are raised for slaughter. Until the council gave its approval to the changes at its June 10 meeting, the code stated that keeping a hog in Tacoma was a 'public nuisance,' and people who did so would be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of a $1,000 fine or up to 90 days of imprisonment.
Hines said the strict punishment is likely a holdover from a decades-old policy that doesn't quite fit in 2025 when many people own potbellied or 'teacup' pigs. Pigs have recently made headlines in Tacoma – in 2024, Tacoma police officers gave chase to a small pig that trespassed through Tacoma's Eastside neighborhood.
'I want to say that I really wanted to ban pigs, because this is a city, it's not a farm, it's not Pierce County that has larger land areas,' Council member Sarah Rumbaugh said at the June 3 meeting. 'The reason I agreed to it is that people have potbellied pigs. That's a thing and they have them as pets.'
The changes also include higher annual license fees for dogs and cats – it will soon cost $40 to license an altered dog and $175 for an unaltered dog, up from the $30 and $65, respectively. Licensing altered cats will now cost $30 and unaltered cats will cost $175, up from $20 and $65, respectively. The new ordinance also sets an annual license fee for indoor pigs at $40.
The increased fees will help fund the city's Trap-Neuter-Return program for community cats, to help address the city's animal overpopulation. It also includes stricter requirements for pets to be microchipped and spayed or neutered, to prevent further animal overpopulation and to ensure that lost pets can be returned to their owners.
Local Humane Society chief executive officer Leslie Dalzell called the changes 'thoughtful,' saying they will help reduce unnecessary shelter intake and ensure that the Humane Society can focus its efforts on helping animals 'truly in need.'
'Together, these changes reflect the city of Tacoma's continued leadership in progressive animal welfare policy and our shared commitment to treating every animal as an individual,' Dalzell told The News Tribune in an email.
The city won't begin enforcing the increased fees until Sept. 1 to give the public time to become aware of the change and to pay the fees at a lower rate before they go up. Hines said the educational component that comes with the new fees is more the city's focus over strictly enforcing them – the changes are aiming to ensure that lost pets can be found and cared for. The city soon will begin to inform the Humane Society and local veterinarians of the changes who then can help inform pet owners, he said.
'If animals are licensed and microchipped, then if they are lost, it'll be easy to get them back to their owners. So there's a benefit to owners to have your animals licensed and microchipped,' Hines said.
When the council gave its final approval June 10, the ordinance included an amendment that provided flexibility to the ownership of ducks and other fowl. The city code previously stated that residents can own a minimum maximum of six baby chicks, rabbits, ducklings or other fowl, but it didn't allow for people to buy fewer than six animals to replace them in the event that some pass away.
'By changing the code to allow you to purchase the number that gets you back to six actually honors the original intent of the rules [from] back in 1958,' Hines said at the meeting.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
3 days ago
- CBS News
Baltimore residents frustrated with weeds covering sidewalks, fire hydrant
Residents on Baltimore's Pascal Avenue are frustrated that trees, brush, and shrubs are taking over part of their neighborhood. "We've had cars that have gotten bugs, trails of bugs from out of the brush into their cars," said resident Michelle Martin. "There are thorns, so if you step out, you might get scratched." Residents on Baltimore's Pascal Avenue are frustrated that trees, brush, and shrubs are taking over part of their neighborhood. CBS News Baltimore This has become the reality for residents of Pascal Avenue in Baltimore City. "If there was an actual fire, we didn't know where the fire hydrant was because it's completely covered with brush," Martin said. No response from the city Martin says when she moved to the neighborhood eight years ago, she used to walk the sidewalks all the time, but over the last three years, the sidewalk has become overgrown with shrubs. She says several calls to the city to maintain it have gone largely unanswered. "Last year, I made three calls, and only one of them got a service request," Martin said. "When I called to check on them, they told me they only saw one in the system and that it probably wouldn't be handled this year." Rodent infestation fuels frustration Now, following a rodent infestation, she and her neighbors have had enough and took their frustrations to City Councilwoman Phylicia Porter. In a statement to WJZ, Porter says she is aware of these concerns, writing in part, "My staff informed her that there is no sidewalk on the street abutting West Bay Park. Additionally, staff informed her in the June 12, 2025, 4:48 PM email that Forestry, under City Recreation and Parks, had been notified and that our office is tracking the issue for resolution." Hoping for a solution Martin says she is hopeful Councilwoman Porter will bring them a long-awaited solution, but she is frustrated that it had to come to this. "I don't think this is a big issue, I think it's something that could easily be taken care of. I don't think we have to, as a taxpayer, that I have to call a councilman and a state senator to get someone to respond and get an answer to get this taken care of, but that's what I've had to do," said Martin. Martin told WJZ that an inspector came out Wednesday, and he, too, denied that a sidewalk was ever present there, which Martin says is not true. She said the inspector told neighbors they are working to have this addressed by the end of the summer.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Virginia Beach approves filling of borrow-pit despite residents' concerns
VIRGINIA BEACH — In a 9-0 vote Tuesday, the City Council approved a permit modification that will allow the city to fill a human-made lake with dredged material. Councilman Worth Remick, who represents the district, made the motion to approve it. Vice Mayor Rosemary Wilson and Councilwoman Jennifer Rouse were absent. The Department of Public Works plans to dump dredged material from navigation channels and stormwater projects into the lake. The approval came after nearly a dozen people including neighboring residents spoke against the plan citing concerns about water contamination, flooding and impact on wildlife. 'Filling this pond is a short-term solution that creates long-term problems,' said Lisa Johnson, a representative of the Virginia Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, an environmental organization. The lake, on the east side of Oceana Boulevard across from Naval Air Station Oceana, was formerly a borrow-pit for sand. Rainwater filled it, transforming the site into an oasis for migratory birds and other animals. In 2016, the City Council approved the purchase of the property for the 'deposit of dredged spoils,' according to a city resolution. Filling the lake with dredged material is not expected to increase flooding in the area because it will become more pervious, City Engineer Toni Utterback told the City Council last week. Public works will test and remove contaminants from the material before it's dumped, according to the city. The department has also installed three monitoring wells on the site and plans to build a 2-foot berm around the eastern end of the lake to protect adjacent properties along Birdneck Road. Councilman Stacy Cummings said Virginia Beach is obligated to provide a place for dredged material. 'We have to dump it somewhere, and this site works perfectly for that purpose,' he said. Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125,
CBS News
13-06-2025
- CBS News
Ann Arbor residents upset over decision to euthanize beavers at municipal golf course
A colony of beavers that took residence at the city-owned Leslie Park Golf Course in Ann Arbor, Michigan, met a tragic end after city and county officials decided to euthanize them. The decision caused quite a controversy, as animal rights groups advocated for a more humane option to be explored in the wake of the decision. Washtenaw County officials say the decision didn't come easily, and it didn't come out of convenience. Officials say there needed to be action due to the beavers' impact on not just the golf course, but also stormwater management, infrastructure and neighborhoods downstream. "Relocating them on any land within the state of Michigan is not legal without the DNR signing off on that, and it's not something east of Oregon, maybe California," Harry Sheehan, Washtenaw County Water Resources Chief Deputy Commissioner, said. Sheehan says an onsite meeting in May explored using a beaver pipe to regulate water flow without disturbing the colony, an outcome that wasn't guaranteed in this instance, as the beavers already started expanding their construction. "The problem is they started to move upstream already," Sheehan said. "There's a concern they would move downstream as well." The only approvable option left was removal, a death sentence for the colony. Sheehan said fostering the beavers isn't something they explored, but it's also unlikely to be approved by the DNR. It's an option the Humane Society of Huron Valley said they'd participate in if it could save future beaver colonies from the same fate. "We have actually worked for many decades with wildlife, and we have humane wildlife removal services, so we'd be happy to work with them," said Wendy Welch of the Humane Society of Huron Valley. Other advocates blame the DNR's labeling of beavers as a nuisance animal for the limited humane options available to deal with them in less rural settings. "We cannot just have the same old attitudes that whatever is better for humans goes. Deeming someone to be a nuisance dictates how we treat them," said Bee Friedlander, president of the board of directors at Attorneys for Animals. With beaver sightings becoming more common in Washtenaw County, there's a chance new colonies could move into the space this one left behind. Sheehan says the county will continue monitoring Tarver Creek for new activity as they mull more humane solutions to potentially deal with them.
