A Ban On Owning Farm Animals? Michigan Is Considering It

IMG Auteur
Published : January 30th, 2014
584 words - Reading time : 1 - 2 minutes
( 1 vote, 5/5 )
Print article
  Article Comments Comment this article Rating All Articles  
0
Send
0
comment
Our Newsletter...
Category : Opinions and Analysis
"Yes, Virginia, there IS a socialist under every bed". At least in the Michigan legislature. Rendered to the trash compactor as once a contributor to America, Michigan is now proving a danger to its citizen families and their property. The legislative crime chieftains are oneupsmanshipping the fedgov!

Michigan deployed the 8th Michigan to invade & capture Charleston in 1862 . They got slogged down in pluff mud at the battle for Secessionville, and we kicked their sitting heinie ducks so hard they'll never come back. Socialist Yankees are not wanted down here, even as vacationers.




Written by: Daniel Jennings Current Events January 24, 2014


Kelly VanderKley
Keeping even one “farm animal” in residential neighborhoods could soon be illegal in Michigan. That’s because a proposed change to state regulations could strip property owners of the right to keep and raise small numbers of poultry or livestock.

Michigan’s Right to Farm Act currently extends to all property owners in the state, including those in areas zoned residential or commercial. The state Agricultural Commission is considering a change to the regulations – called Generally Acceptable Agricultural And Management Practices (GAAMPS) — that would strip property owners of that right.

“It would exclude a whole bunch of people who are seeking Right to Farm protection,” Randy Buchler of the Michigan Small Farm Council said of the proposal, “and strip the small farmers of their right to be protected by a state law.”

The change would allow local governments to bar people from keeping small numbers of animals such as one cow or pig or a flock of chickens on their property. The law does this by labeling certain kinds of property, such as lots in subdivisions or small homesteads, as unacceptable for livestock.

Currently, Strong Legal Protections For Farms

Currently, Michigan property owners such as Buchler can go to court and get restrictions on livestock ownership overturned. The changes to the law would restrict that right to farmers with more than 50 animals.

“What they are trying to do is to take away Right to Farm protection from people trying to be self-sufficient but not able to do agriculture on any level according their local zoning,” Buchler said of the commission.


That could effectively strip most residential properties in Michigan of Right to Farm protections. It would also give local governments the power to stop people from raising small numbers of animals on their property.

“Small farms are protected the same way any farm is,” Brad Deacon of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development noted. That protection has upset some residents who don’t like the idea of livestock in rural areas…

Farmers Are Threatened

Michigan’s Right to Farm Act (RFTA) is the strongest legal protection for individuals’ right to grow food in the nation, the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund noted. The Fund is one of a number of groups that believe the proposed changes threaten property rights.

“The protection that Michigan’s RTFA provides to suburban and urban farms on non-ag zoned land is now in jeopardy,” the Defense Fund said in a press release.

“The agency can’t rewrite the law,” Buchler said of the Agricultural Commission. He accused the commission of trying to usurp the powers of the state legislature and overturn the legislature’s decision. “They have only the authority to carry it out as the legislature intended. If they’re going beyond that, they’re violating the separation of powers. Period.”
<< Previous article
Rate : Average note :5 (1 vote)
>> Next article
All the stuff you don't want to know about, but should. And, when you do know, you realize that for the present you are powerless to change it This article is brought to you by the Charleston Voice E-mail List. To subscribe FREE to the distribution list, send an e-mail to the author with 'SUBSCRIBE' in the subject line.
Comments closed
Latest comment posted for this article
Be the first to comment
Add your comment
Top articles
World PM Newsflow
ALL
GOLD
SILVER
PGM & DIAMONDS
OIL & GAS
OTHER METALS
Take advantage of rising gold stocks
  • Subscribe to our weekly mining market briefing.
  • Receive our research reports on junior mining companies
    with the strongest potential
  • Free service, your email is safe
  • Limited offer, register now !
Go to website.