Poor Peter Rabbit to be evicted?! What do you think?

Question

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080827/ap_on_fe_st/odd_one_horse_town

I'd love to crash their email server around their ignorant ears. You'd think with nation wide support the "town fathers" would be a little more sympathetic. sheesh, the horse is 32, was born there....

grrrr

Answer 1

If the move was dangerous to the horse's health, and if the horse passes because of the stress, could animal abuse charges be lodged against the city?  Just wondering.

http://www.hickman.ne.gov/ < This is "their" side of the story.

I'm with you two, if there is a fund, I'd be one of the first in line with money in hand.

Answer 2

I suspect the town will not enforce the prohibition against horses when it comes to Peter Rabbit.

As I read the article, the measure they were voting on was an all or nothing: livestock allowed vs. livestock not allowed. Therein lies the problem. If it had been a simple vote on whether Peter Rabbit could stay in his pasture until he dies, I'm sure it would have been a unanimous yes.

My guess is that they will "grandfather" him in. It's not like he's going to be around for long.

Answer 3

I think he should stay where he is and those "town fathers" need to find something better to do with their time and energy than picking on a poor, old defenseless horse.

Answer 4

I think HIckman or whatever the city is called is wrong. Poor Petter Rabbit, he's lived there his whole life, and he's old. If you moved a 32 year old horse, it is bad on his health.

As far as I am concerned. If Peter Rabbit isn't bothering anybody, which I don't think he is, considering i highly doubt he does more than graze, it's not like he's running wild and scaring little Children. Let him stay in his pasture, he's old, and he might die soon anyways. It's just better for everybody that way. And HikcMan people are dumb for wanting him to move.

I also agree, if there was a fund, I'd donate as well. Or I'd donate what I could out of my piggy bank. :]

Answer 5

I was thinking along the same lines as John R.-they should look into the "grandfather rights" if the town grew up around the horse and his place, and if the horse has always been there, I don't think there's much the city can do about it.

Hope the owner sticks to his guns!

Answer 6

I would think Peter Rabbit would be grandfathered in. I think the owner needs an attorney. This town is disgraceful and I've e-mailed them myself. What a bunch or jerks!

Answer 7

I can't imagine that his supporters haven't resorted to using the "Grandfather clause" in just about any city that exists.  In other words, if it was there prior to new laws, it remains, especially since the horse isn't going to live that much longer any way.  I would think that they could easily find other grandfather clauses used by those very CITY FATHERS, that would provide precedent to prove their case.  If you have contact with these folks, that's the way that I would proceed.

EDIT****Sorry, I'm not in the habit of reading other posts before I respond, seems as though everyone else has the same idea as I did...sorry, didn't mean to appear to copy your answers.

Answer 8

if the horse has been there before the law was enacted then it falls under a "grandfather law" and it can be fought in court.the same thing happened in colorado springs with a person who has donkeys,the city council tried to get them to get rid of their donkeys because of a zoning change for the property,digging into the issue a little further it was found that the main supporter of the zoning change was a developer and city councilman and he wanted the property.since that little thing as long as he has livestock on the property the city council cant do a darn thing about it.one thing people can do is write their senators and congressman to pressure them into some action,it is an election year and bad publicity is not taken well during this time.it is funny how fast a city council will change their mind when government funds are involved and the threat of them being taken away sends shivers down a city's spine.

Answer 9

Yeah, I've followed this story.  I think a fund needs to be started to cover legal expenses and fees.  I'd contribute.

Answer 10

Those mother effers.  I have no words, other than that.  Stupid, selfish, black-or-white, no-gray-area idiots.

"Hickman City Administrator Bret Baker hasn't been amused by all the publicity. Given some of the phone calls he's received, it's tough to blame him. He said staff had to turn off the voicemail because of all the phone calls, and the flood of e-mails "actually bombed our e-mail server three times."

The FHOTDers...well, at least they tried.

Now Councilwoman Kim Hoesing needs to be thanked.  Apparently she was the only person who didn't support the eviction.

EDIT:  Dubie, I am with you.  I would be more than happy to contribute.  I have a feeling that idea might pop up on the Fugly blog today.

Answer 11

That's awful. That horse has maybe five years left in him, and yet they are kicking him out of the only home he's ever known? They should be ashamed of themselves.

Answer 12

I think that is awful!!!!! That horse has been there longer then the people in the office!!! People have NO value of history or loyalty to the old timers..... Sad.....

Answer 13

I don't think "new" ordinances with regards to farm property should be retro-active.  Basically, if the land was legally able to house livestock when these people bought the property, it should still be able to house animals.  The town I used to live in had a farm about 2 blocks from the downtown area.  There are still horses there.  It's actually really cool to drive into the downtown area and see horses running through the fields.  It's not a big town, but that's beside the point.

If a vet says the animals health will not allow him to be moved, then I think the "town fathers" should have to drop the motion to have the horse moved.

It seems like this is another case of the government infringing upon the rights of the citizens, even though it is not the national government.

Did I miss the reason these people want to horse to be moved?  I kinda lost track of this story last week.