by Jackie Nunnery
LANCASTER—Everyone, it seems, is now familiar with the pigs of Iberis Road. I was asked more than once on Wednesday, November 16, as I arrived at the Lancaster Courthouse, if I was there “for the pigs.” Even after being seated in General District Court and with the proceedings already in progress, a gentleman sat next to me and asked, “Is this the pig case?”
At first glance, what might have appeared to be a simple neighborhood dispute, the “pig case” has touched on property rights, English Common Law and its affects on Virginia’s current fencing laws, and the environmental hazards of feral pigs in the Commonwealth as parties have tried multiple paths to a resolution.
While a curiosity for many in the county, for those directly involved the past year has had a few ups, some recent downs, but mostly it has been frustrating.
In September 2021, Iberis Road neighbors brought the issue of loose pigs and property damage to the attention of the board of supervisors and were in General District Court the following month. At that time, property owner Janice Baylor told the court she had repaired the fence and nearly all of the pigs were in the new enclosure, after being found guilty of 11 misdemeanors related to the pigs roaming the road. Baylor was again in court on Wednesday to answer to 18 new charges of having livestock loose on a public roadway….
