The City of Knoxville will not change its ordinances to allow for possession of potbelly pigs in city limits, the city council decided Monday. City Manager Heather Ussery says this decision was made based on research and critical thinking by council members.

“After the last city council meeting, the mayor and council directed staff to reach out to four cities in Iowa that do allow potbelly pigs. They wanted to get copies of their codes and feedback on how it’s been going in their cities. Community Service Officer Meredith Clark reached out to them and got that information. After reviewing that, as well as feedback from other citizens, the council decided that was not something they wanted to move forward with.”

This was brought up by citizens at the previous meeting, where the council decided to take no action, in order to have ample time to make a well-informed decision.