At One House In Paulsboro, Dozens Of Pigs Cause Problems For Neighbors
By Robin Rieger
PAULSBORO, NJ (CBS) -- It's not often you see a pig looking out the window of an RV, but that's the scenario at the home of Florence Gruber in Paulsboro, NJ. Over two dozen small breed pigs currently occupy a makeshift pen in her backyard and live inside the RV parked in her driveway. But not for long.
On Monday, a municipal court judge ruled that Gruber was in violation of a nuisance ordinance that prohibits farm animals on residential properties.
"The ordinance was a 1937 law that said no pigs, no goats, I think [no] sheep," Gruber says.
Gruber also says that because of the pigs, she's already racked up about $580 in municipal fines. She has thirty days to get rid of the animals, or she'll be charged $20 per day, per pig.
"Even if we appeal and win, they still have to go someplace else in the interim," Gruber explains.
Gruber admits that having this many pigs is overwhelming. She got her first one two years ago and last August, "I bred my first two, which were fabulous," she says.
Until, she says, she bought more, and they mated and multiplied quickly, bringing flies, an odor and problems to her street that many neighbors complained about.
"They're not so cute anymore, not when they're running around the neighborhood when they get loose," says neighbor Kathy Hunckler, who lives across the street and complained at Paulsboro council meetings.
And Hunckler says planning outdoor activities is tough.
"When the wind blows like today, you can't be outside," she explains.
"The neighbor two doors down will stand on his back step and scream, 'I smell bleepity pig bleep!'" Gruber says.
Neighbor Brittney Heary likes the pigs and says she is disappointed they have to go.
"You never hear 'em, you never smell 'em, they've never been a problem for us," Heary alleges.
Gruber is trying to find new homes for them, and some have already been adopted. She is currently in compliance with the county health department after making changes an inspector recommended.
For more on Gruber's pigs, click here.
