Fight to reclaim goats takes aim at Detroit law
For... or Against...?
Sky Brown and her husband, David Brown, moved into Detroit from the suburbs in May to rehab a long-abandoned home with hopes of helping rebuild the city.
The neighborhood near Six Mile and Telegraph consists of a scattering of abandoned and foreclosed homes and a lot of fallen trees. It's an area well on its way to being reclaimed by nature.
Inspired by the rural feel, the couple got a half-dozen chickens and three goats, hoping to keep the goats as pets in an enclosed area in the backyard. They planned to eat any eggs produced by the chickens.
"I've always wanted animals. I always wanted to be a farmer when I was younger, and I just love goats," said Sky Brown, 34.
But in October, the couple say animal control came in, confiscated the animals without warning and slapped Sky with nine criminal charges of harboring wild animals. The chickens have been given away. The goats are in a sanctuary.
Supporters say the crackdown represents the wrong direction for a city hoping to attract professionals to its blighted neighborhoods. Sky Brown has a law degree; David Brown, 33, works for the Detroit Bus Co. They have started a website to draw support and funding for their legal fight. Sky Brown is fighting the nine misdemeanor counts — each punishable by up to three months in jail — and has a court hearing in February.
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/new...-law/21215901/
another article -
The seizure ended Sky Brown’s dream of urban farming on a property in a rundown Detroit neighborhood she and her husband purchased for $2,000 last year. The couple wanted to turn the property into a self-sustaining urban homestead.
“I’ve always wanted goats since I was a little kid,” Brown said. “And they were attainable here where there are no people.”
She noted that the neighborhood she lives in is largely deserted but very affordable. The Detroit Muckraker blog described Riverdale as plagued by crime, arson and abandoned houses. Dead pit bulls presumably left over from dog fighting are regularly dumped on the neighborhood’s streets.
“There are gun shots every night,” Brown wrote of her neighborhood. “There are meth addicts blowing up houses within blocks of us, and the city of Detroit finds it more relevant to rip screaming pets out of the hands of their devastated owners.”
Brown was particularly upset with Animal Control because they would not simply let her move the animals outside the city limits.
She admits the seizure is partially her fault because she did not check on the legality of owning farm animals in Detroit. Many cities and towns have laws against farm animals on the books, and a lot of those laws define chickens as farm animals.
Brown has created a GoFundMe site to raise money to help get the goats back. Funds raised will be used to help overturn what Brown described as Detroit’s “archaic law against urban farming.” Brown is also receiving pro bono or free legal representation to help her cause.
http://www.offthegridnews.com/2014/1...stated-family/
