"Agawam couple suing city in bid to keep their goats" Associated Press, August 27, 2013
AGAWAM — A long-running legal dispute between a Massachusetts couple and the city that is trying to make them get rid of the goats on their property is now in federal court.
Alan and Suzanne Griffin, in a lawsuit filed last week in US District Court in Springfield. They say Agawam officials are violating their civil rights and discriminating against them. The suit seeks $2 million in damages for mental anguish and emotional problems.
The Griffins are asking a federal judge to block the city’s move to enter their property and remove the goats. Legal action is also underway in state Housing and Land courts.
‘‘I’m going to fight like hell when they come here to take my animals,’’ Alan Griffin told The Republican newspaper of Springfield. ‘‘I have rights, and I will defend my rights.’’
I hope you have a gun.
*****************
City officials have argued that the Griffins should be banned from keeping goats because the animals must move over the front section of the yard, which is zoned residential, to reach the back portion, which is zoned for agriculture.
Alan Griffin, 60, says the goats provide milk for his 50-year-old wife, who cannot drink cow’s milk because of digestive problems.
The dispute dates to 2006. The city offered the Griffins a settlement last year that would have allowed them to keep some goats under certain conditions.
--more--"
