Policy on Pets, Farm Animals, & Wild Animals

Definitions

Indoor pets -- animals (goldfish, gerbils, cats, zebras, whatever) that never leave the indoor premises of individual households.

Outdoor pets -- animals (cats, dogs, potbellied pigs, whatever) that spend time outside, whether free-ranging or leashed.

Barnyard pets -- animals (horses, sheep, goats, emus, whatever) that require barn space, barnyard space, grazing land, or fodder (such as hay) from common land and that do not contribute directly or indirectly to the livelihood or food supply of Cobb Hill members.

Farm animals -- animals (horses, cows, sheep, goats, chickens, etc.) that require barn space, barnyard space, grazing land, or fodder from common land and that do contribute directly or indirectly to the livelihood or food supply of Cobb Hill members.

Wild animals -- animals (deer, turkeys, coyotes, foxes, woodchucks, mice, rats, songbirds) that occur naturally on the land.

Carrying capacity -- In a natural sense, the number of animals of each species that can thrive in a geographical community without degrading its environment. In a social sense, the number of animals that can be enjoyed and cared for by the community without inducing strife over, for example, encounters with feces, love of untrammeled garden space, personal preferences of all sorts (i.e., birdwatching vs. catwatching).

Interests and principles we are trying to serve with this policy

We want to live in solidarity with animal companions, both wild and domestic, in our community and on our land. We want them to be healthy, to live natural lives, to live and die in dignity. We will not tolerate cruelty to animals.

We understand that nature operates through food chains and that balanced populations of animals at various levels of the food chain are necessary for the successful operation of both natural ecosystems and organic farms. We therefore agree to keeping farm animals, and to their use for milk, wool, and eggs. We will permit the slaughter of animals for meat, population control, euthanasia, or to protect farm animals from predation. However, we expect these measures to be carried out with responsibility, compassion, and skill, arising from deep relation with and respect for animals.

We shall strive to keep the populations of all animals on our land safely within both natural and social carrying capacities.

The intent of this policy is to impose management and behavioral standards that protect the safety, beauty, tranquility, sustainability, and health of the community, its neighbors and its animals. These standards will be stated in terms of expectations, rather than rules, out of respect for the relationships between individual humans and individual animals.

All animals impact the environment. Food and care for domestic animals require streams of food, packaging, transport, medicines and waste processing, which impact not only our own land and resources, but land and resources far away. Therefore, in keeping with our principle of sustainability, we will love animals, but bring them into our lives mindfully.

Our Policy

1. Indoor and outdoor pets already belonging to any household at the time of their move to Cobb Hill may be brought into the community. However, to ease the stress of both human and animal transitions, we recommend that pets not be brought to Cobb Hill, if another good home can be found for them. Barnyard pets and farm animals may be brought to Cobb Hill only with permission of the Land Use Committee.

2. No animals except for guide animals shall be admitted to the public areas of the common house.

3. Owners are strictly responsible for the good behavior of their animals and for ameliorating any damage caused by animals. Other residents are responsible for informing owners as quickly as possible about any animal-related problem. Other residents are also responsible for keeping other animals and children from provoking or hurting animals.

4. Animal-related grievances that cannot be settled quickly among some subset of community members shall be dealt with through the community's conflict transformation guidelines. The tenure of a pet whose behavior has resulted in more than three requests for community mediation in a one-year period shall be subject to community consensus, not including its owner.

5. Any animal that deliberately hurts or threatens a person or another animal (when unprovoked) shall be subject to immediate exclusion at the discretion of the Residents' Committee.

6. Visitors who bring animals to Cobb Hill shall be expected to abide by this policy.

Indoor Pets

7. Indoor pets are the responsibility of the household in which they live. Unless they cause complaint beyond the walls of their living unit, they are not the community's business. We urge all households, however, to consider the full sustainability implications of acquiring any indoor pet. (For example, the capturing of endangered species, the electricity or other forms of energy required for maintenance, the necessary food supply and where it comes from, the disposal of wastes, etc.)

8. Since indoor pets can escape, we expect indoor cats and dogs to be neutered and vaccinated.

Outdoor Pets

9. Based on its experience, the community shall set an upper limit for tolerable numbers of dogs, cats, and other outdoor pets. These numbers may be changed by decision of the Cobb Hill Residents Committee.

10. If the actual number exceeds this limit, then no new outdoor pets shall be brought into the community until attrition brings the population down below the limit. If the number falls below the limit, priority for households bringing in new pets will be established by the Residents Committee.

11. All outdoor pets shall be neutered and to have up-to-date protective inoculations.

Barnyard Pets and Farm Animals

12. Based on its experience, the community shall set an upper limit for the supportable number of barnyard pets and farm animals. These numbers may be changed by decision of the Cobb Hill Land Use Committee with the affirmation of the Owners Committee. If the actual number exceeds this limit, then no new barnyard pets or farm animals shall be brought into the community until attrition brings the population down below the limit.

13. If the limit permits new animals to come in, priorities shall be established by the Land Use Committee. Animals necessary to the livelihood or food supply of community members shall have priority over animals kept for recreation or as pets.

14. Owners are strictly responsible for the care of barnyard pets and farm animals and jointly responsible for disposing of their wastes in an ecologically and esthetically acceptable manner (to be approved by the Land Use Committee).

15. Owners will work with the Land Use Committee to come to an agreement about the allocation of fodder, grazing land, and barn space for barnyard and farm animals.

16. Owners will pay the community for their animals' use of common land and facilities, either in cash or in kind, according to agreements worked out with the Cobb Hill Owners Committee.

17. Owners are expected to make use of grazing and hay lands in ways that maintain or increase those lands' fertility and productivity and that protect water and wildlife resources.

18. Owners are responsible for fencing sufficient to contain the animals in a way that protects the animals and the community. Owners are responsible for ameliorating promptly any damage caused by these animals to buildings, fences, and land. The community is responsible for respecting fencing and gates and abiding by the animals owners' instructions with regard to keeping animals fenced and controlled.

19. Owners shall carry insurance policies sufficient to protect the community from property and liability damage attributable to barnyard pets and farm animals.

Wild Animals

20. We welcome wild animals and strive to preserve their habitats, especially in forest and wetlands. We will try to manage grazing and croplands in ways that encourage wildlife, as far as possible without threatening our crops, domestic animals, or livelihoods.

21. When it is necessary to protect crops, domestic animals, or built space from wild animals, we will do so as far as possible by nonviolent means (fencing, repellents, guard animals). However if necessary, and to the minimum extent necessary, we will kill wild animals in order to protect domestic animals, farm animals, buildings, people, and livelihoods.

22. Hunting by the general public is not allowed on our property. We may work out a hunting policy with neighbor hunters we trust, so we will know when hunters are on our land, know who they are, and know that the hunting will contribute to population balance and diversity of wild animals on our land.

23. We will especially protect endangered species on our land, insofar as we know of them and insofar as their protection is within our power.

24. We will permit the use of domestic animals in the control of wild animal populations within the building and garden areas of Cobb Hill. (For example, barn cats catching mice or dogs chasing woodchucks from gardens.) But we will limit our domestic animals’ interference with wild species by restricting their range and access to the wild habitats on our land, especially during seasons when their prey are bearing young.