Category — Livestock

A small but vocal group in Oakland, California thinks so. I beg to differ.

By Kiera Butler
Mother Earth News
Feb. 2, 2012

Excerpt:

A few weeks ago, my friend was handed a flier (PDF) at a farmers market in Oakland, California. It’s from a local group called Neighbors Opposed to Backyard Slaughter that wants the City of Oakland to forbid people to raise livestock on their property. Around here, urban farming is a pretty hot issue; a nonprofit called City Slicker Farms has been promoting DIY food production for several years, and author and farmer (and Mother Jones contributor) Novella Carpenter brought the practice into the limelight with her 2009 book Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer, about her experiences at her Oakland farm.

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Backyard Slaughter Trend Evokes a Backlash

By Sami Grover
TreeHugger
January 20, 2012

Excerpt

The rise of backyard farming has been held up by many as a more sustainable, humane alternative to the industrial food system. And many backyard farms are including animals for meat and dairy production. Some of their vegetarian neighbors, however, are none too pleased about it. In the latest issue of VegNews, Ian Elwood of Neighbors Opposed to Backyard Slaughter lays out his opposition to backyard animal husbandry of all kinds:

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BBC News

A goat which blows raspberries has become a hit with visitors at a farm in Nottingham.

Lucy, who arrived at Stonebridge City Farm, in St Ann’s, six months ago, took staff by surprise with her unique talent.

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Founded in 1945, CARE is a leading international humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. In more than 80 countries, CARE works with the poorest communities.

Piglet for a household

Perhaps you’re asking yourself: “What help is a piglet?” Piglets can be bred and sold, providing a new source of income. So now when someone asks you why you gave a piglet as a gift, you can tell them you helped someone start on the path of a sustainable livelihood. Or you can just oink at them, whichever you prefer. Link here.

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Alex Kipple, 17, lets her lamb into one of the livestock pens at McNeil High School on Friday. Kipple and dozens of other McNeil students participate in the school’s FFA chapter, where the students learn about agriculture and are responsible for the care of their animals. Photo by Kelly West.

1,000 Texas Future Farmers of America chapters in public schools

By Andrea Ball
The American Statesman
Nov. 26, 2011

Excerpt:

The pigs are squealing, the chickens clucking, the lambs playing, the goats bleating, and the steers standing in their pen. It’s a typical morning at McNeil High School.

Livestock at school? In a part of Central Texas where people are more likely to work at Dell than run a farm?

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New York City – “They are pretty sustainable and make us breakfast.”

By Clare Trapasso
Daily News Writer
October 02, 2011

Excerpts:

In a city where the local food movement is growing despite the scarcity of arable green space, one Queens couple has come up with a creative way to ensure they have a ready supply of fresh eggs.

Robert McMinn, 45 and Jules Corkery, 45, are raising three hens inside their one-bedroom apartment in Astoria.

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The youth of Kibera are keeping poultry as an income generating project.

Kibera is a division of Nairobi Area, Kenya, and a province and neighbourhood of the city of Nairobi, located 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the city centre. Kibera is the largest slum in Nairobi, and the second largest urban slum in Africa. The 2009 Kenya Population and Housing Census reports Kibera’s population as 170,070, contrary to previous estimates of one or two million people. (Wikipeida)

By Kiberia TV
KiberaTV is citizen journalism like you have never before seen it: the story of one of Africa’s largest and most controversial slums told by those who know it the best.

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25 minute video! Bees, Goats, Chickens, Tilth

CityStream
10/6/2011
(Must see. Mike)

Urban farming flourishes in Seattle! Honeybee colonies are under attack. Find out how you can support local bee hives and make your garden grow. Plus, raising goats and chickens in the City isn’t as hard as you may think and the rewards are plentiful. Join host Penny LeGate for these stories and more from Seattle Tilth for this urban farming special.

City Stream at Seattle Channel.

A cow in Hyderabad, a city of over 4 million people.

“We have a produce of more than 100 litres of milk daily and distribute it not only in this area but also adjoining ones,” says Darogha Yadav, manager of the cattle shed behind Inorbit.

By Rahul Devulapalli
Times of India
Oct 14, 2011

Excerpt:

HYDERABAD: In the backyard of IT hub of Hi-Tec City is another flourishing industry, that of cattle farming. There are an estimated 30 big and small cattle sheds in Madhapur area alone and several more in adjoining areas. The owners, now big realtors and businessmen, are unwilling to use this land for anything else apart from rearing their cows and buffaloes. Owned largely by the local Yadav community, these cattle sheds are almost invisible as they are tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Hi-Tec City.

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Esperanza Pallana, a leader in the Oakland urban farming movement, picks Brandywine tomatoes in her backyard, where she grows Fuji apples, figs, berries and other crops. Oakland now allows her to sell the produce, but Pallana also has animals she would like to slaughter for meat for herself. Photo by Manny Crisostomo/Mcrisostomo.

“It doesn’t matter what animal you own, whether it’s livestock or domesticated cats and dogs, you need to be a responsible neighbor and clean up after your animals.”

By Grace Rubenstein
Sacramento Bee
Oct. 9, 2011

Excerpt:

However, eco-friendly arguments don’t soothe residents like Ian Elwood, co-founder of a group called Neighbors Opposed to Backyard Slaughter. Well-meaning as urban farmers might be, he said, their ignorance and inexperience leads to animal suffering.

“People are learning through do-it-yourself,” he said. “But when you forget to water the chard, the chard dies and it’s not that painful for anyone.” With a chicken, Elwood said, such errors amount to abuse or neglect.

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See this excellent film about what is accomplished on the farm. Link here.

A Farm in the Heart of Camden initiated in 1972

Kentish Town City Farm is an educational and recreational project that developed out of the needs of local people.

Initiated in 1972, through the medium of an existing community group, it has provided animals, gardening space, horse riding and a focus for youth education and community work for thousands of users per year.

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Highlights from a Preliminary Survey of Ownership and Management Practices

By Esperanza Pallana and Nathan McClintock
EBUAA, Pluck and Feather, UrbanFood.org
September 2011
12 pages

Excerpt:

As public interest in urban agriculture spreads rapidly across the country, city officials are attempting to amend outdated municipal codes to reflect this growing trend. In many cities, planners are updating zoning codes to reflect changing land uses and activities, including the production and sale of agricultural products and the keeping of urban livestock such as chickens, geese, ducks, goats, pigs, rabbits, and bees. Over 20 US cities (including Cleveland, San Antonio, Kansas City, and Seattle) have recently passed ordinances to support and regulate the keeping of urban livestock. A zoning update for urban agriculture in Oakland is currently underway.

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Photo by North Seattle Sarah

MOO. Green Lake makes new use of word “Urban Farming”

By North Seattle Sarah
Sept 23, 2011

Excerpt:

Not a real cow – this one seemed to be made of a combination of paper mache, pvc pipe, and who knows what else. But it certainly did it’s job of bringing the neighborhood together, as I was just one of three groups of people who were out taking photos of her!

More here.

Sheep grazing in cityscape. Some 300 lambs and 350 Mule ewes graze the parkland across 35 fields in Milton Keynes. Source: Farmers Guardian.

It is a logistical challenge running livestock in the heart of a thriving city

Farmers Guradian
20 September 2011

Excerpt:

The aim? To care for the city’s parks and green spaces and run a sustainable farming enterprise in view of the public. An ambitious aim, some might even say crazy, but whatever the opinion, it’s a work in progress.

The initiative is the brainchild of self-funding charity The Parks Trust and local fourth-generation livestock farmer, Luke Stacey.

The intention is to manage the land well, progress it to a good environmental standard and educate local residents about farming within an urban location.

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Coco de Mer co-founder Sam Roddick in her “bee buffet” garden in London’s Hampstead. Photo by James Ostrer.

Putting the Chic in Chicken Coop

By Jemima Sissons
Wall Street Journal
Aug 5, 2011

Excerpt:

Sam Roddick, co-founder of London boutique Coco de Mer and daughter of Body Shop founder Anita Roddick, is also passionate about the preservation of the honey bee. She is part of a new campaign entitled “Bee Lovely,” run by natural-remedy store Neal’s Yard, which aims to help address the problems facing bees and educate those who want to keep them. “I went to the Natural Beekeeping Trust course a few years ago and, soon after, started transforming my garden,” Ms. Roddick says. She has planted what she calls a “bee buffet” in her London garden, including lavender, rosemary, thyme and hawthorne, and plans to start keeping bees there soon.

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Jody Noble-Choder holds Attila-the-Hen outside her coop in Pittsburgh. Photo by Kris Maher/The Wall Street Journal

As Hobbyists Feather Own Nests, City Dwellers Flock to Tour Backyard Henhouses

By Kris Maher
Wall Street Journal
Aug 2, 2011

Excerpt:

“Some chicken people are coming out of the closet,” said Ms. Noble-Choder, a corporate lawyer who organized this summer’s first Chicks-in-the-Hood Pittsburgh Urban Chicken Coop Tour. She paid $1,200 for her coop, which has heated roosts and an automated door opener, but many coops are humble do-it-yourself affairs requiring little more than a few two-by-fours, some chicken wire and straw. Seven families displayed their coops, and adults paid $5 each to go on the self-guided tour. Between ticket and T-shirt sales, the fledgling group took in more than $1,800, which it donated to a food bank.

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Couple has seven hens on a one acre property in Ontario town of Campbellford

By Mark Hoult, Qmi Agency
Northumberland Today
July 28, 2011

Excerpt:

Councillors Kim McNeil and Eugene Brahaney said they are firmly opposed to allowing farm animals on urban properties.

“What concerns me is, how do we as a municipality police it, what kind of work is it going to put on us in terms of policing,” McNeil said. “In Toronto maybe yes, but here there are farms all around and all kinds of eggs. So I would not support it.”

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Most city dwellers who raise chickens, like Babineau, do so for their eggs — not for slaughter

By Benjamin Shingler
Canadian Press
July 16, 2011

Excerpt:

MONTREAL – Each morning, Marci Babineau steps out the backdoor of her Montreal townhouse to fetch a half-dozen eggs from the chicken coop in her yard.

“It still amazes me everyday,” says Babineau, a yoga teacher who had chickens growing up in suburban California. “I always thank them, because I feel like saying, ‘I’m glad it’s you, not me (laying eggs).’”

While backyard chickens are permitted in Babineau’s area, an upscale municipality on Montreal island, they remain an underground movement in most North American cities amid concerns about smell, sanitation and noise.

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Megan Webb, director of the Oakland Animal Shelter, is now housing an additional 21 confiscated bunnies taken from a breeder who was raising them for their meat. The rabbits are available for adoption. Photo: Lance Iversen / The Chronicle.

On the heels of the urban faming craze, Oakland is embarking on a series of community meetings this summer to review its agriculture laws.

By Carolyn Jones
San Francisco Chronicle
June 30, 2011

Excerpt:

Oakland animal officials were scrambling Wednesday to find homes for 21 malnourished, deformed rabbits seized from a Lake Merritt area backyard, where they were being raised for food.

The bunny bust comes just as Oakland enters into the debate over urban agriculture regulations, deciding how to monitor livestock – its treatment and slaughter – in one of the country’s hotbeds of urban homesteading.

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Duncan’s Backyard Henhouses: www.dailyeggs.com

This model fits the Vancouver bylaw requirements for 3 laying hens (12 square feet of coop space and ~30 in the pen). The coop sits atop a 4-foot by 8-foot pen, which provides adequate roaming space for your hens, while keeping them protected with 1/2-inch wire mesh.

To clean the pen or tend to the chickens,the top is hinged. An access door at the front allows for easy cleaning, while an egg door at the side gives access to the laying box that the hens share. Hens descend from a trap door to access the pen from the coop.

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