‘We love them:’ Business pleads Brevard County to keep pet pigs after code complaint

Rockledge store would lose 6 of 10 rescue animals

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A holistic health products store that also houses rescued animals is asking Brevard County for a special exemption to keep all ten of its pot-bellied pigs.

Under code enforcement rules, Mrs. Mango and Company on US-1 can only keep four of the pigs because the property is merely two acres and not ten acres in size.

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‘’We just don’t want to have to give up six of our pets,’’ owner Anneke Charland told Brevard County commissioners Tuesday. ‘’We love them.’’

Charland said one person complained about her animals, prompting a visit from code enforcement.

According to her, after years of rescuing animals — including chickens, bunnies, and goats — this was the first complaint.

‘’I’m not quite sure what his motivation was,’’ Charland said about the complainant.

News 6 called the complainer who code enforcement named, but received no response.

The county, however, said it’s willing to work with Charland.

‘’I’ll get something started and see if we can figure anything out,’’ Commissioner Rita Pritchett told Charland.

Charland plans to move all of her animals to a part of her property zoned for agriculture use by May 28, but she said that even then, she could still lose her pigs.

‘’Hopefully, they will find it in their hearts to make an exemption for us,’’ Charland said.

In an email to News 6, the county said it has not cited the business yet.

‘’We have advised the owner that we are giving additional time for code enforcement staff to research the issue further as well as to enable the owner time to look into alternatives before any formal enforcement in order to hopefully resolve the issues,’’ Brevard County Communications Director Don Walker wrote.

A follow-up inspection is scheduled around July 1.


About the Author:

James joined News 6 in March 2016 as the Brevard County Reporter. His arrival was the realization of a three-year effort to return to the state where his career began. James is from Pittsburgh, PA and graduated from Penn State in 2009 with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.

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