Getting rid of animals...?
Question:How can I get rid of a neighbors farm animals when animal control won't do it's job? I live in a quite little country subdivision. We get along with all our neighbors except... there is one 'family' (I'm not sure how to best describe their familial status). They had chickens penned up which wasn't a problem.. but they got out and have since had babies. The chickens are all over the neighborhood now. And then it gets worse... most recently they decided to get a pig! It keeps rooting in our septic tank and I'm afraid if it keeps it up it will cause a lot of damage. Oh I forgot to mention I also have a child and these animals can be very dangerous. How can I either drive these animals away or possibly poison them (without harming our little 'neighborhood dog')?
Answers:
This post is long, and I'm sorry about that, but first of all, I agree 100% with you that YOU shouldn't have to put up a fence because someone in your neighborhood refuses to follow the law and control their livestock. Why do people immediately seem to turn things around and make it like it's YOUR fault that animals are on YOUR property? I'm a firm believer in PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY...something that is sorely lacking these days.
If it were me, I would do the following:
Take pictures of the animals on your property and ALL of the damage being caused, no matter how small it may seem to you. Also keep track how often the animals "visit". If you can video tape it, do that too. Document, document, document!
Call Animal Control one more time and speak with the top person and mention the property damage being caused, especially the septic tank issue. If they do nothing, remember they work for someone within the city, and work your way up the food chain. IMPORTANT: At every step, keep a notebook next to you and write down their names, their titles, agency and phone number, when you spoke to them date and time, and just a BRIEF note as to what was said. Do this with every person you talk to until your problem is solved. Also, I know how high your frustration level is (I've had to deal with city personnel too) so make sure you speak in a very calm, pleasant voice, and don't let them bully you, or make you think that YOU'RE crazy, or the troublemaker "bad neighbor" simply because you're speaking out and want something done. Remember, the animal owners that let livestock roam are the bad neighbors.
Also make sure to call the health department. A pig can be very destructive, and to be rooting around a septic tank system is extremely unhealthy, not only to you and your family, but the pig is exposing the tank contents to the open air and/or water table causing possible environmental issues. If the health department balks, contact a environmental government agency. Remember, keep names!
People might laugh about the chickens, but they can be very destructive. I've seen landscaped yards completely destroyed by them, and their droppings are "hot" and kill grass, etc...so...for any free roaming chickens on my property, I would catch them and see if any local farmers would like some cheap chickens. Hopefully, your neighbor is smart enough to notice he's losing livestock, and would figure out a way to keep them in his yard. Remember, it's not YOUR job to catch them and return them to him.
Contact your home insurance company. THEY are the ones insuring your property and if they can help you solve the problem, they won't have to pay out monies for damage and repairs. If they mention installing a fence, thank them for their time and move on (I'd also question why they're my agents). Also, I would want to find out who is insuring the neighbor's property. You should be able to file a claim against THEIR homeowner's policy since it's THEIR neglect and animals causing the damage. Pictures and other info important here.
Only as a last resort, I would contact an attorney.
I wish you luck, I've had problems in the past with roaming dogs, but managed to get that issue solved. Be sure to post your results, I'm curious to see how things turn out for you.
Surround you house with a privacy fence so the pig can't get to your septic tank, and then try to forget about those neighbors.
Keep making reports to the authorities. It's their duty to keep people like that in line. We had neighbors who had chickens and let them run freely, then accused our dog of eating them. If their animals come onto your property feel free to shoot them, whether you're aiming to kill or just to run them off.
Good luck!
If you drive the animals away or poison them, you should go to jail. If you allow the "neighborhood dog" to run freely in your community, you have no recourse against the "family". Granted, pets running loose can be a problem. Address it at the village or county board meeting. I'll bet there is a law on the books to address this issue allready. If the pig is rooting in your septic tank you can call the animal control officer, or police department to handle the situation. If you poison the animals, the police will respond and arrest YOU. and rightfully so.
Well... You don't want to put up a fence, you want the town to deal with your problem and the safety of your property. In that case, wait until something happens and then try to sue the town. No guarantee you'll get anything though.
I think you are best documenting the troubles, putting up the fence, then taking your neighbor to small claims for at least half of the expenses his actions imposed on you
I think that you are behaving horribly. If animal control does not see a problem, perhaps you bought your home in a place where there are no ordinances against this sort of thing. That is not their problem, as they obviosly knew the laws before they purchased these animals. What if another neighbor moved in and hated the neighborhood dog, and decided to poison it (which, by the way, would be incredibly unpleasant to the animal, making the animal pay painfully for the owner's mistake)? How would you feel about the person doing that? You have no right. Call the authorities, call animal control, but short of that there is nothing legal and moral that you can do. Talk to the neighbors, and explain to them why this is a problem. Perhaps have a petition signed by all of the neighbors, asking them to get rid of the animals or better control them would make them think. Have you really communicated this to the neighbors in an effective manner (meaning not yelling or using threats and profanity, but simply being kind and upfront with them)? Tell them what the problem is, and if they refuse to do anything about it tell them that you will continue calling the police and animal control over this until the problem is solved. Do not poison the animals though. They did nothing but walk around and live life as they have, and should be, allowed to do. The problem is not the animals, but the neighbors. Don't take your anger at the neighbors out on these animals. Remember, they are as much victims in this as anyone else. And if you kill them, these people will just keep getting more.
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