Staten Island family fights to keep beloved pet pig Lucy after 311 complaint
A Staten Island family is fighting to keep Lucy the pig, their beloved pet and emotional support animal.
Health officials are threatening to take her away because they say it's illegal to have a pet pig in New York City.
Pet pigs are illegal in NYC, health officials say
Lucy was the subject of an anonymous 311 complaint earlier in June. Shortly after, a representative from the Health Department knocked on their door.
"She said, 'They're not allowed in New York City. You're violating the law.' And I said, 'I didn't know, I'm confused.' She says, 'Well, we're gonna have to get back to you,'" owner Loriann Gannone said.
A Staten Island family is fighting to keep Lucy the pig, their beloved pet and emotional support animal.
CBS News New York
"In New York City, keeping a pig as a pet has been prohibited for at least 25 years. And for good reason — pigs need outside space and companionship of other pigs to thrive, they can become aggressive toward people, and pig manure is especially odorous and may be problematic for neighbors. In addition, there is no USDA-approved rabies vaccine for pigs. All of this makes it inappropriate to keep pigs as pets in New York City," the city Department of Health said in a statement.
The Health Department said no violations have been issued, and a City Hall spokesperson says they're working on a solution that involves getting Lucy moved to the Gannone family's house upstate, which the family says is under a lot of construction.
Thousands sign online petition supporting Gannone family
At 15 years old, the senior pig spends her days on a series of medication and resting on the couch, her owners say.
"There's no benefit to remove this animal from the community," owner Michael Gannone said.
"I take care of my grandchildren. I gotta pick them up from school, take them to school," Loriann Gannone said. "And then I gotta take care of [Lucy]. It's a lot of stress."
In the past week, nearly 9,000 people have signed an online petition for the family to keep the pig. Their efforts have also gotten support from lawmakers like Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis.
Family friend Kaitlyn Grotto made her usual visit to Lucy the pig with her two young children, ages 1 and 4.
CBS News New York
Family friend Kaitlyn Grotto made her usual visit to Lucy with her two young children, ages 1 and 4.
"She was raised around us, so any other environment is not gonna be fit for her," Grotto said. "No threat to anyone, this darling pig."
The Gannones plan on meeting with supportive local lawmakers as soon as this weekend, hoping to find a solution.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
26 minutes ago
- Washington Post
How to protect yourself from ticks year-round
WASHINGTON — Ticks can be active in any season and it's important to check for and remove the bloodsuckers as quickly as possible — especially after you've been outside hiking, gardening or enjoying nature. 'Humans are outside more in summer so we hear about more tick infections ,' said Sam Telford, an infectious diseases expert at Tufts University. But he urges caution year-round because 'every season is tick season.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Hims & Hers (HIMS) Jumps 6.76% Anew as Investors Cheer Weight Loss Drug Fight
Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (NYSE:HIMS) is one of the . Hims & Hers extended its rally for the second day on Friday, adding 6.76 percent to close at $49.41 apiece after its chief executive's reaffirmation that the company will continue to offer cheaper compounded versions of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, following its terminated partnership with Novo Nordisk. According to Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (NYSE:HIMS) CEO Andrew Dudum, he was upset that Novo was feeling the pressure and was not comfortable. A nurse in a telehealth platform talking with a patient on video call for consultation. 'But ultimately, I think us holding strong to fighting on behalf of customers is just who we are. There's just no way in hell we're going to cave on that, no matter who the pharma company is or what the partnership looks like,' he noted. Novo Nordisk terminated its partnership with Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (NYSE:HIMS), alleging the latter of failing to adhere to the law, which prohibits mass sales of compounded drugs under the false guise of 'personalization.' Novo Nordisk also claimed that Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (NYSE:HIMS) was disseminating deceptive marketing that put patient safety at risk. While we acknowledge the potential of HIMS as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Body fat predicts major health risk that BMI misses, researchers say
Body mass index (BMI) may not be the most accurate predictor of death risk. A new study from the University of Florida found that BMI — a measurement that is commonly used to determine whether a person's weight is in a healthy range for their height — is "deeply flawed" in terms of predicting mortality. Instead, one's level of body fat is "far more accurate," concluded the study, which was published this week in the Annals of Family Medicine. Bmi Is Wrong Way To Measure Obesity, Researchers Say To measure participants' body fat, the researchers used a method called bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), which uses a device to measure the resistance of body tissue to a small electrical current. Over a 15-year period, those who had high body fat were found to be 78% more likely to die than those who had healthy body fat levels, researchers found. Read On The Fox News App They were also more than three times as likely to die of heart disease, the study noted. BMI — which is calculated by dividing weight by height, squared — was described as "entirely unreliable" in predicting the risk of death over a 15-year period from any cause. The study included 4,252 people in the U.S. and pulled data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Men Face Higher Cancer Risk With This Specific Body Fat Measurement BMI should not be relied upon as a "vital sign" of health, according to senior author Frank Orlando, M.D., medical director of UF Health Family Medicine in Springhill. "I'm a family physician, and on a regular basis, we're faced with patients who have diabetes, heart disease, obesity and other conditions that are related to obesity," Orlando said in a press release for the study. "One of the routine measures we take alongside traditional vital signs is BMI. We use BMI to screen for a person having an issue with their body composition, but it's not as accurate for everyone as vital signs are," he added. BMI has been the international standard for measuring obesity since the 1980s, according to many sources, though some experts have questioned its validity. An individual is considered obese if their BMI is 30 or above, overweight if it is between 25 and 29.9, of "normal" weight in the range of 18.5 to 24.9, or underweight if lower than 18.5. While BMI is easy to calculate, one of its main limitations is that it cannot distinguish between muscle and fat mass, the researchers noted. "For example, people who are bodybuilders can really elevate their body mass index," Orlando said. "But they're healthy even with a BMI indicating that they're obese." "BMI is just so ingrained in how we think about body fat," Mainous added. "I think the study shows it's time to go to an alternative that is now proven to be far better at the job." Experimental Drug Helps Patients Lose Nearly A Quarter Of Body Weight In Early Trials Other methods, such as a DEXA (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) scan, may be even more accurate than BIA, but are much more expensive and not as accessible, the researchers noted. "If you talk to obesity researchers, they're going to say you have to use the DEXA scan because it's the most accurate," Mainous said in the release. "And that's probably true. But it's never going to be viable in a doctor's office or family practice." Dr. Stephen Vogel — a family medicine physician with PlushCare, a virtual health platform with primary care, therapy and weight management options — echoed the limitations of BMI. "It has been an easy measurement tool that helps us understand at-risk groups across various populations and demographics, but it doesn't provide accurate data from patient to patient," the North Carolina-based doctor, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. "These findings don't challenge the assumptions about BMI — they strengthen the message that new standards, delivered in a consistent and low-cost way, would provide better nuance for the individual when it comes to their overall physical health." "The main strengths of this study are a better correlation to an individual's risk of morbidity and mortality — however, the limitations lie in the fact that we don't have enough data to determine the right cutoff for these numbers, or to identify the right tools that will be both accurate and precise across the population," Vogel said. The researchers also acknowledged that body fat percentage thresholds haven't yet been as standardized as BMI and waist circumference. Click Here To Sign Up For Our Health Newsletter Also, the age range of the participants in the study was limited by the data source. "Future studies should extend this comparison of body fat to BMI in older adults," the researchers wrote. The study was also limited by focusing only on mortality as an outcome, they noted, without taking into account any developing diseases — such as heart failure or cancer — that could deepen the understanding of body fat as a risk factor. The goal, according to Vogel, is to have a cost-effective, consistent method that can be used across the population with reliable accuracy. "Benefits would come in the form of a more detailed list of information that helps providers and patients make informed decisions about the patient's health, which is ideal," Vogel noted. "I'm hopeful there's enough buzz around these measures that steps will continue to be taken toward regular implementation." For more Health articles, visit The researchers are hopeful that once standards are validated, measuring body fat percentage with bioelectrical impedance analysis could become standard of care. They added, "These data will drive better discussions in the doctor's office, as well as public health initiatives with the goal of improving the health of all."Original article source: Body fat predicts major health risk that BMI misses, researchers say
