For the Pellé family, Babe the miniature pig has been a beloved household member for over a year, living alongside their children and dog.
Yet under Luxembourg law, Babe remains classified as livestock – a designation that applies to all domestic pigs regardless of their living situation.
This legal status creates practical challenges, as miniature pigs cannot be registered as pets, for example. To change this, the Pellé family launched a petition in October 2024 with the aim of having miniature pigs recognised as pets. But the petition was unsuccessful and no change in the law is planned at the moment.
Animal welfare expert Adela Fuentes Lakowska of FRIDA is well aware of the issue. She herself looks after various animals, including pigs, in an orchard in Remich. While she supports the Pellé family’s cause, she warns that there are significant challenges involved in keeping a pig. According to Lakowska, pigs require significant space as well as social contact and need to be kept busy. Otherwise, their behaviour can change considerably over time and what may seem cute when they are still piglets can become problematic later on.
For the Pellé family, Babe is part of their daily life. They try to keep him as busy as possible, and they even run an Instagram account to educate people about keeping miniature pigs. But despite their best efforts, the legal situation in Luxembourg remains unchanged: a miniature pig is still considered a farm animal and not a pet.
