By Shelby Stewart
Staff Writer
Brandon Twp.- When it comes to township livestock, it could soon pay to be small.
At the Monday night meeting, the township board considered revising township ordinance Sec. 46-282-(2) Animal Maintenance.
“The current ordinance, the way it stands, does not differentiate between a draft horse and a mini,” said Trustee Bob Marshall. “You could have a draft horse that weighs 2,000 pounds, you could have a mini that weighs 250 pounds. Inconsistent.”
The current ordinance allows for one class II animal per 2.5 acres of land in the township, which includes cows, horses, pigs, hogs, sheep, goats, llamas, ostriches, emus, alpacas and any other similar animals.

However, it does not differentiate the animals by size.
“A goat doesn’t eat as much as a horse does,” said resident Tiffany Vela, township resident and multiple goat owner who addressed her concerns at the meeting. “Goats are also companion animals, they need a friend or they will scream and yell. We also have Oakland County Fair members who would really benefit from the ability to have two of my children have a goat and show them in the 4-H.”
Marshall is suggesting that the ordinance state that the acreage consideration include leased property as well, and that two class II animals be permitted for the first 2.5 acres provided their combined weight does not exceed 2,000 pounds, with one additional class II animal being permitted for each full acre in excess of the 2.5.
“I understand that the problem with the ordinance is inconsistency, how it’s interpreted and how it’s enforced,” said Marshall. “And what I’m trying to do here is trying to get some logical view of how to look at animals.”
While the board agreed that there should be provisions to allow for more animals that need to be in pairs, such as goats or sheep, the method to allow them differed across the board.
“I think we need to separate into large and small and have two smalls and one large, make it easier for the enforcement,” said Kathy Thurman, supervisor. “I went online and looked at all the weights of all the animals we list. But I think it would just be way easier, and we can make a recommendation for what we think should be included in small animals and large animals, but I think for enforcement purposes that would be much easier to enforce than to have somebody go out and measure them.”
Thurman suggested something more similar to Almont and Addison Townships, which allow one large hoofed animal or two small hoofed animals, and defining which animal falls into which categories.
“We have to look out for all of our residents, and these ordinances are in place for all of our residents, not just those that like animals but also those that don’t like animals,” said Thurman. “So we have to be fair to everybody, and our ordinance enforcement officer has a lot to do, they don’t need more work to do.”
Both suggestions will be brought to the planning commission for their July 23 meeting, and residents will have a chance to speak during that meeting about the suggested revisions.