Balancing the Rights of Farmers and Animals

The Town of Ovid's Farm law draft gets support:

The town board didn’t hesitate Wednesday night to support the final draft of grape grower Chris Verrill’s proposed “Right to Farm Law.”

Verrill, a planning board member who suggested such legislation several months ago, couldn’t attend the board’s meeting that night, so he missed hearing Supervisor David Dresser commend his and Town Attorney Steven Getman’s efforts to protect local farmers’ interests.

Dresser and board members had been contacted by numerous residents concerned that the original draft might leave a loophole for puppy mill operators. A paragraph in the new version specifically excludes protection for dog and cat operations and bars the law from being broadened to mean that.