Daniel Zuckerman is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media residents turned out August 8 for a Catskill Village Board meeting to express their opinions on the possibility of a village law to bar the possession of livestock in the village. Residents have owned livestock in the village in the recent past, including chickens and a pig, but it did not result in neighbor complaints or health concerns, Catskill Village President Vincent Seeley said during the meeting. The discussion about barring livestock from the village properties is happening now because of a quality-of-life complaint made by a resident to the village board. “We really haven’t acted on it like we did now,” Seeley said. “Nobody’s in trouble today, right now, but what we’re considering doing is making a permitting process that you would fill out some paperwork.” Seeley said chickens present a special challenge because skunks and other animals are attracted to the eggs. Bird feeders attract more wildlife than the eggs chickens lay, Tom Stupplebeen said, adding he owns 20 chickens at his home on Grandview Avenue. “Do we have to register to have bird feeders?” Stupplebeen said. “There shouldn’t be a limit on the number of chickens [you can have].” Village resident Lex Grey understands the concerns about a permitting process for keeping livestock, but some rules could be enacted, she said, such as requiring that animals be kept in an enclosure. “We live in close proximity to each other... respectfulness needs to prevail,” she said. Animal owners and their neighbors should be able to reach a compromise, Trustee Stanley Dushane said, adding that enough time had been spent on the discussion. Seeley said the board will likely create some guidelines for residents right now, but will not enact a livestock law. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.