So I heard back from one of my contact people and...the next step is to get some letters sent out to county commissioners.
BUT FIRST, I'd like any interested parties to read the information packet that was previously presented to the Ingham County Animal Control Advisory Board. I'll try to send out the info packet to those of you I know of soon (and I'll try to figure out how to upload the PDF to this blog). The info packet will hopefully give you an idea of what the main issues/concerns are about legalizing goats in any municipality.
What I'll then ask you to do is write a letter (preferably a real letter, not an email) to the county commissioner for your district (I'll show you how to figure out who this is) showing your interest in legalizing goats in Ingham County.
It would also be great if you could attend the next Advisory Board meeting which I believe is Monday November 26th (in the evening).
Stay tuned for more information!
Friday, October 12, 2012
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Getting The Ball Rolling Again
I feel really guilty that so much time has passed since I actively worked on the urban goat issue in Ingham County. I had to miss the March 2012 meeting because I was attending a conference in California. I asked how the March meeting went in my absence and they said that they continued to discuss, but no decision was made. It appears that once I stopped attending meetings, the goat issue was probably just dropped. I don't blame them though, they're busy people with (often times) bigger fish to fry (e.g. cruelty cases, free spay neuter clinics, adoptions, etc).
I just missed the September meeting which was last Monday. It's difficult getting much accomplished when the committee only meets every other month! Anyway, I just contacted two members of the Animal Control Advisory Board today about starting the discussion again. I'm hoping to find out that some major steps forward were made in my absence, but I doubt that happened. I'm worried that so much time has passed that I'll have to basically start over from scratch.
In any event, I plan on attending the November meeting and getting the ball rolling again. I'm excited to have met some other like-minded people over the summer who are interested in pursuing this legalization process too. Maybe things will be a little more successful if I have some teammates!
I just missed the September meeting which was last Monday. It's difficult getting much accomplished when the committee only meets every other month! Anyway, I just contacted two members of the Animal Control Advisory Board today about starting the discussion again. I'm hoping to find out that some major steps forward were made in my absence, but I doubt that happened. I'm worried that so much time has passed that I'll have to basically start over from scratch.
In any event, I plan on attending the November meeting and getting the ball rolling again. I'm excited to have met some other like-minded people over the summer who are interested in pursuing this legalization process too. Maybe things will be a little more successful if I have some teammates!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
A Bit of a Set Back...
So there has been a bit of a set back. I attended another Animal Control Advisory Board meeting last night and a couple of issues have arisen.
1) The USDA (or was it the MDA?) is in the process of changing a regulation in Michigan that requires all livestock to have identification ear tags (and not just animals being imported into Michigan) in order to keep records on disease such as scrapie (the version of mad-cow that goats and sheep can get). In addition, entities such as the Ingham County animal shelter will be required to slaughter any un-tagged goats they pick up. Unlike un-registered dogs, which get impounded and eventually re-homed, goats will get impounded and slaughtered, with no option of re-homing. The animal shelter does not want to be responsible for "disposing" of the animals and also doesn't want to get a bad rap. Having to slaughter someone's untagged pet goat would be a public-relations nightmare! Furthermore, even if we specifically state in our goat ordinance that "ALL GOATS MUST HAVE IDENTIFYING EAR TAGS" a lot of people won't pay attention to the rules...and as a result, their animal could get needlessly slaughtered.
2) The Ingham County Animal Shelter is already under-funded and under-staffed. Allowing any new "critter" in the county will inevitably make more work for them. Regardless of how clearly spelled-out the regulations are in the goat ordinance, many people will obtain goats without ever reading the regulations. A possible way to "pay-back" the animal shelter for having to deal with goats will be to require a licensing fee (like a dog license).
The plan is to collect more information on the USDA regulation and figure out the issues with the animal shelter and/or licensing fees. Then we will meet with the Animal Control Advisory Board again in late March (they only meet every other month). If the advisory board approves the updated resolution, then we can go to the Law Enforcement Committee to get the resolution passed (hopefully).
1) The USDA (or was it the MDA?) is in the process of changing a regulation in Michigan that requires all livestock to have identification ear tags (and not just animals being imported into Michigan) in order to keep records on disease such as scrapie (the version of mad-cow that goats and sheep can get). In addition, entities such as the Ingham County animal shelter will be required to slaughter any un-tagged goats they pick up. Unlike un-registered dogs, which get impounded and eventually re-homed, goats will get impounded and slaughtered, with no option of re-homing. The animal shelter does not want to be responsible for "disposing" of the animals and also doesn't want to get a bad rap. Having to slaughter someone's untagged pet goat would be a public-relations nightmare! Furthermore, even if we specifically state in our goat ordinance that "ALL GOATS MUST HAVE IDENTIFYING EAR TAGS" a lot of people won't pay attention to the rules...and as a result, their animal could get needlessly slaughtered.
2) The Ingham County Animal Shelter is already under-funded and under-staffed. Allowing any new "critter" in the county will inevitably make more work for them. Regardless of how clearly spelled-out the regulations are in the goat ordinance, many people will obtain goats without ever reading the regulations. A possible way to "pay-back" the animal shelter for having to deal with goats will be to require a licensing fee (like a dog license).
The plan is to collect more information on the USDA regulation and figure out the issues with the animal shelter and/or licensing fees. Then we will meet with the Animal Control Advisory Board again in late March (they only meet every other month). If the advisory board approves the updated resolution, then we can go to the Law Enforcement Committee to get the resolution passed (hopefully).
Monday, January 23, 2012
Another Meeting Tonight
I will be attending this month's Ingham County Animal Control Shelter Advisory Board meeting tonight. I hear that they will be discussing the goat issue quite a bit...in order to decide if the board will be in support of the proposed goat resolution at the upcoming Ingham County Law Enforcement Committee meeting next week, February 2.
Hope everything goes okay...if nothing else, I think we will be finalizing our version of the resolution (which may involve adding a few things such as the rumored ear tag requirement).
Hope everything goes okay...if nothing else, I think we will be finalizing our version of the resolution (which may involve adding a few things such as the rumored ear tag requirement).
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Update
Now there's been mention of some requirement for ear-tags on all livestock in michigan, regulated by the Michigan Department of Agriculture. Hopefully this won't trip things up too much!
Friday, January 13, 2012
Let's Get This Resolution Passed!
Hi Everyone,
As you may know, I have been working with the Ingham County commission to try to get dairy goats legalized in urban areas. The process has been moving along pretty smoothly and we are close to finishing!
I have a meeting with the Ingham County Law Enforcement Committee on Thursday February 2nd (at 6pm) to present the resolution to allow goats. I'm pretty sure that getting the law enforcement committee's approval for the resolution is the last step in the process! My contact with the county commission suggested I try to find some other pro-goat (or pro-urban agriculture) people to come and show their support at the meeting (and possibly say a few words).
If you are interested in legalizing urban dairy goats in Ingham County and improving access to fresh and unadulterated milk in the city, please consider attending the meeting and showing your support. Contact me for more information.
As you may know, I have been working with the Ingham County commission to try to get dairy goats legalized in urban areas. The process has been moving along pretty smoothly and we are close to finishing!
I have a meeting with the Ingham County Law Enforcement Committee on Thursday February 2nd (at 6pm) to present the resolution to allow goats. I'm pretty sure that getting the law enforcement committee's approval for the resolution is the last step in the process! My contact with the county commission suggested I try to find some other pro-goat (or pro-urban agriculture) people to come and show their support at the meeting (and possibly say a few words).
If you are interested in legalizing urban dairy goats in Ingham County and improving access to fresh and unadulterated milk in the city, please consider attending the meeting and showing your support. Contact me for more information.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Update- Getting the City Council On-Board
Taking the advice of my contact with the Ingham County commission, I contacted two city council members (one for Lansing, one for East Lansing) on Monday to let them know that some goat legislation may be coming their way (I'm pretty confident at this point that it WILL be coming their way). I'm thrilled to have heard back from both of them already...and they both sound like they're on-board and maybe even excited about it!
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