Letter: Farmers are Westport’s true animal advocates

Posted 9/26/19

To the editor:

Westport farmers and members of the Westport community crowded the room at the Board of Health meeting on September 10. The Westport community and its farmers spoke out at this …

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Letter: Farmers are Westport’s true animal advocates

Posted

To the editor:

Westport farmers and members of the Westport community crowded the room at the Board of Health meeting on September 10. The Westport community and its farmers spoke out at this meeting in opposition to the proposed regulations at this meeting with dignity and honesty, and these voices that voted in this Board of Health deserve to be heard!

A recent Westport Shorelines editorial “Time to Step Up” is a tragedy in so many ways. It alludes to the fact that Westport farmers and animal owners want the right to abuse their animals and that it should be nobody’s business. Not one farmer was in opposition to regulations levied against tenant farms, and indeed when the tragedy at 177 occurred it was Westport’s farmers that stepped up to offer up their farms, their feed and their supplies to assist in aiding the abused animals.

Additionally, the article states “if ever a town needs a Keeping of Animals regulation it is Westport.” It is an abomination to place the responsibility for the animal abuse case on Route 177 on the backs of Westport farmers or suggest that they are biding their time until Westport forgets so they can abuse animals again. Does the Westport BOH align itself with this writer’s view that Westport farmers are no different than the 177 tenant farms?

Let’s be clear; the 177 tenant farm is not the face of farming in Westport. This editorial states that “animal bad-actors were lured from far and wide, because nobody was paying the slightest attention.” The people found to be abusing animals at 177 were indeed from far and wide. They were not Westport farmers, and Westport farmers had no knowledge of the abuse taking place on this tenant farm. But, the Westport BOH knew about this abuse. They had been out several times to inspect, and they chose to do nothing.

The BOH was successful in implementing regulations aimed at tenant farmers so why are they pursuing additional regulations aimed towards Westport farmers and animal owners? The Westport BOH needs to separate fact from fiction and protect the rights of its farmers from the one percent antagonists in this community intent on destroying our right to farm community. The activists promoting these regulations against local farmers and animal owners are doing nothing more than piggybacking their case on the back of the 177 abuse case.

Further, the town of Westport and BOH has all of the tools necessary to regulate animals already at its disposal if they chose to use them properly. Farmers and animal owners are governable under Massachusetts Department of Agriculture, the USDA, Westport Police, Westport Agricultural Board and the Westport Board of Health. Farms registered with MDAR keep barn books and are already being inspected by state inspectors.

The Westport Right to Farm By-Law specifically protects farmland to function with minimal conflict by town agencies. These by-laws were implemented with the intent of protecting farmers by overreaching government agencies which people knew would have a detrimental effect on local farming. Additionally, the Fourth Amendment provides the right of people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects. Property inspections without notice violate this amendment, and an unannounced inspection of an individual persons property cannot be compared with searches conducted on a place of business since a business owner is offering up their property to the public whereas an animal owner housing animals on their domicile has a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Animal registration serves no purpose since most farm animals do not wear tags identifying their owners so an animal registry will provide no assistance identifying owners. Additionally, these registrations will only lead to fees and inspections targeted towards a group of people already dealing with rising costs and restrictions. And, as more than one person suggested at the BOH meeting; Do you really think people intent on abusing their animals are going to register them with the BOH?

So, I ask you this. Are we willing to lie down the signs that declare Westport a right to farm community? In fact, the home page for the Westport states as its logo “The Coastal Agricultural Resource Community of New England”. The heart of Westport lies in its farms, and we live in a community surrounded by farms that feed our village. Our farms might not always smell like roses, but are we truly willing to punish the farmers whose very farms make Westport such an amazingly beautiful place to live.

Fifteen years ago my husband and I moved our family to Westport to experience this way of life, and we have no desire to see it changed. What do the farmers and animal owners of Westport give us? They give us the Westport Agricultural Fair, one of the largest in our state, and more beautiful farmland than any other town in our state. In our town we have farmstands overflowing with pumpkins, cornstalks and local meats and vegetables, things that we might take for granted, but something other people travel miles to enjoy.

I believe the true animal advocates are the farmers and animal owners in our town. The people that spend their days raising and caring for the animals living in our town. These people spend their days breaking ice out of water buckets and lugging 60 lb. bales of hay and grain bags. They also know that animals that are not healthy result in costly vet bills.

On September 10 the Westport farmers and their community rallied to support local farmers, and the Town of Westport needs to do the same. Perhaps the question the Board of Health needs to be asking itself is not what it can do to punish its local farmers, but instead what can it be doing to support its local farmers.

Sherri Mahoney

Westport

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