LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Metro Council ordinance that recently threatened to remove a miniature horse from a Louisville neighborhood is also putting goats at risk, leaving one Clifton resident fighting to protect urban farming.
Briana Frederick has kept her goats, Betty and Boon, at her home in the Clifton neighborhood for nearly five years. But an ordinance passed by Metro Council in October now makes it illegal for her to own them on her property.
Frederick said she learned about the change after watching WDRB's story last week on Bandit, a miniature horse facing removal from his Louisville home.
"It was a big surprise," Frederick said.
The ordinance was primarily focused on microchipping but included changes that added miniature horses to a list of animals required to live on at least 1 acre of land. The same law now requires goats to be kept on at least half an acre.
Frederick's yard is roughly one-tenth of an acre.
"It's plentiful," she said. "They don't even use most of it."
Betty and Boon have become familiar sights in the neighborhood, often joining Frederick on walks down Frankfort Avenue, where she said people regularly stop to ask about them.
"They're local celebrities," said Sarah Kinser, who lives nearby.
Another nearby resident, Carla Wallace, said the goats add to the neighborhood's character.
"This neighborhood's really special — it has goats," Wallace said.
Frederick uses the goats' fiber for her weaving business.
Since WDRB first reported on the ordinance, public reaction has grown. Metro Councilwoman Jennifer Chappell said she doesn't know who added the language affecting animals or why and said she has started the process to add grandfathering protections for animals impacted by the law.
Frederick said her councilmember has assured her Betty and Boon can stay, but she wants it rescinded all together to allow urban goats in the future.
"I think it should be rescinded and the old language restored, because it was actually working, which many things are not working, so let's work on those," Frederick said.
She said removing the rule entirely is the only way to ensure urban farming can continue in Louisville neighborhoods.
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