Can a pet pig help change a bylaw banning backyard chickens?

Brent Johnson is using his new pet pig Pork Chop to try to change a municipal bylaw governing backyard chickens in the city of North Bay, Ont.

Earlier this year, Johnson was told he had to get rid of his small flock of hens because it violated a city bylaw, which states that domestic fowl are not allowed within city limits.

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He has asked city council to change the decades old bylaw, but says he is still waiting for a response.

In order to change the bylaw, a city councillor must put forward a motion and council would need to approve it. So far none of the North Bay councillors have offered to take this forward.

The list of prohibited animals in North Bay includes sheep, goats, horses, cattle, foxes, minks and swans. It does not include swine, so Johnston bought a Berkshire heritage pig to prove a point.

"There were some political promises that were made to move forward the motion. Turns out those political promises were ... well a pig in a poke."

Johnston says his pet pig is meant to poke fun at city council and stimulate them to make the changes.

"It's my hope to harness-train him [the pig], take him on walks around, maybe he'll be something of a celebrity, as I walk him off to city council to greet them as they exit, to inquire how the chicken bylaw is coming along."

Other metropolitan areas, like Vancouver and Toronto allow backyard chickens or are at least piloting projects to see if it would work.

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"If other municipalities can be forward thinking like that, why would North Bay not kind of join in? All the information is there for them to make an informed decision. It's an easy choice."

Johnson says making a change to the bylaw would be simple. The city would just remove the words 'domestic fowl' from the list of prohibited animals, and add the word 'rooster'.

The hens were re-homed at a rural homestead in Wanup, near Sudbury, so it would be easy for Johnson to get them back.

The backyard chickens provided Johnston and his family with eggs on a regular basis and were a source of amusement for his grandchildren.

"The whole idea behind all this is primarily for the grandkids, as an educational process for them."

In the meantime he says he has grown to love his new pet pig, who he says always greets him with a grunt and runs happily around his pen when Johnson returns from work everyday.