"Natural" Shelter

[Ben H]

Talking with people here and learning what they do in other parts of the country has helped make my decision to remain in the beef business. First if I was to do that I knew I needed to expand. The thought of the cost of buildings with the price of beef just doesn't pencil out. Talking to other Ranchers on her and doing some research I got out of this mindset that beef cows need a barn. They need wind protection and hopefully some trees to get out of the weather. I could handle that, and that's what I've been doing for my cows this winter. They're doing fine. I talked to a friend the other night at the yearly Customer Appreciation Night at our local JD dealership. He raises Blondies for the "show cattle" market. Which "justifies" calving all year round in barns. I'm not gonna go there today. I told him what I'm doing and he warned me that I need to be careful. The State of Maine has laws about providing shelter to livestock, requiring at least a 3 sided shelter. Driving home I got thinking I had two options.
1) Get involved and change the law
2) Move
I got home and found the Animal Welfare laws for my state online. He was partly right, if you're talking most animal species. But there is an exemption for livestock (not including equine) and the wording uses the word "Natural Shelter" I'm going to copy and paste this part of the law and wold like comments on how it can be interpreted.
What I believe I can't get away with is what Jim Gerrish said down at the National Grass-Fed Beef Conference earlier this month. He doesn't give them anything, not even wind break. "That's why God gave them hair and a thick hide".

7 § 4015. Proper Shelter, Protection From the Weather and Humanely Clean
Conditions
No person owning or responsible for confining or impounding any animal may fail to
provide the animal with proper shelter, protection from the weather and humanely clean
conditions as prescribed in this section.
1. Indoor standards. Minimum indoor standards of shelter shall be as follows:
A. The ambient temperature shall be compatible with the health of the
animal.
B. Indoor housing facilities shall be adequately ventilated by natural or
mechanical means to provide for the health of the animal at all times.
2. Outdoor standards. Minimum outdoor standards of shelter shall be as
follows:
A. When sunlight is likely to cause heat exhaustion of an animal tied or
caged outside, sufficient shade by natural or artificial means shall be
provided to protect the animal from direct sunlight. As used in this
paragraph, "caged" does not include farm fencing used to confine farm
animals.
B. Except as provided in Subsection 5 and 6, shelter from inclement
weather must be as follows:
- 57 -
(1) An artificial shelter, with a minimum of 3 sides and a waterproof
roof, appropriate to the local climatic conditions for the species
concerned must be provided as necessary for the health of the
animal.
(2) If a dog is tied or confined unattended outdoors under weather
conditions that adversely affect the health of the dog, a shelter of
suitable size with a floor above ground and waterproof roof must be
provided to accommodate the dog and protect it from the weather
and, in particular, from severe cold. Inadequate shelter may be
indicated by the shivering of the dog due to cold weather for a
continuous period of 30 minutes.
C. No animal may be confined in a building, enclosure, car, boat, vehicle or
vessel of any kind when extreme heat or extreme cold will be harmful to
its health.
3. Space standards. Minimum space requirements for both indoor and
outdoor enclosures shall include the following:
A. The housing facilities shall be structurally sound and maintained in good
repair to protect the animal from injury and to contain the animal.
B. Enclosures shall be constructed and maintained to provide sufficient
space to allow each animal adequate freedom of movement. Inadequate
space may be indicated by evidence of overcrowding, debility, stress or
abnormal behavior patterns.
4. Humanely clean conditions. Minimum standards of sanitation necessary
to provide humanely clean conditions for both indoor and outdoor enclosures
shall include periodic cleanings to remove excretions and other waste
materials, dirt and trash to minimize health hazards.
5. Livestock. Livestock must be provided with shelter suitable for the health of
the animal. Livestock must have access to a constructed or natural shelter
that is large enough to accommodate all livestock comfortably at one time.
The shelter should be well drained and protect the livestock from direct sun,
rain, wind and other inclement weather. Notwithstanding this subsection,
shelter for equines must be provided in accordance with Subsection 2,
Paragraph B, Subparagraph (1). For purposes of this subsection, "livestock"
includes large game as defined in Section 1341, Subsection 5 kept at a
licensed commercial large game shooting area as defined in Section 1341,
Subsection 1.

 

[Mrs.Greg]

Being Canadian I'm sorry I don't know what your weather is like.


Also being Canadian I also know cattle don't need a barn,not even "show" cattle. We calve out on the open,our calving just started but lots of Canadians calve in Jan.We get lots of snow and often-40 weather,no barn used,not enough room in a barn for all the cattle.We have wind breaks that are one and two sided,but have the best natural cow protecter there is TREES. Cattle also use each other for protection and huddle together.Just thought I'd tell you this so you could use this in your fight to change the law...good luck

 

[jigs]

changing a law is easy.
it is changing the mind of a person who has their head so far up there backside they have no clue of common sense, that is the problem....

good luck with your battle Don Quiote !!

 

[Work Hard and Study Hard]

Laws are nothing if they are not inforced. If the Animal Shelter Police aren't driving around writing tickets I wouldn't worry about. The law seems to have quite a little "grey area".

 

[Steve]

Living in the liberal northeast, I have dealt with a few "peta" types and we have similar laws...

the laws were meant to address what I call the city farmer...

They have ten head of cattle an old mule or donkey and someone's sick horse, two goats and a pot bellied pig,, on a mis-zoned grandfathered property of 5 acres or less....in the midst of residential property they owned at one time, but sold off in pieces the past...

the first thing I do is look at only the part that applies:

Proper Shelter, Protection From the Weather and Humanely Clean Conditions

No person owning or responsible for,..any animal may fail to provide the animal with proper shelter, protection from the weather and humanely clean conditions as prescribed in this section.

1. Indoor standards. Minimum indoor standards of shelter shall be as follows:

A. The ambient temperature shall be compatible with the health of the animal.

B. Indoor housing facilities shall be adequately ventilated by natural or
mechanical means to provide for the health of the animal at all times.

B. Except as provided in Subsection 5, shelter from inclement weather must be as follows:

(1) An artificial shelter, with a minimum of 3 sides and a waterproof roof, appropriate to the local climatic conditions for the species concerned must be provided as necessary for the health of the animal.

C. No animal may be confined in a building, enclosure, car, boat, vehicle or vessel of any kind when extreme heat or extreme cold will be harmful to its health.

3. Space standards. Minimum space requirements for both indoor and outdoor enclosures shall include the following:

A. The housing facilities shall be structurally sound and maintained in good repair to protect the animal from injury and to contain the animal.

B. Enclosures shall be constructed and maintained to provide sufficient space to allow each animal adequate freedom of movement. Inadequate space may be indicated by evidence of overcrowding, debility, stress or abnormal behavior patterns.

4. Humanely clean conditions. Minimum standards of sanitation necessary to provide humanely clean conditions for both indoor and outdoor enclosures shall include periodic cleanings to remove excretions and other waste materials, dirt and trash to minimize health hazards.

5. Livestock. Livestock must be provided with shelter suitable for the health of the animal. Livestock must have access to a constructed or natural shelter that is large enough to accommodate all livestock comfortably at one time.

The shelter should be well drained and protect the livestock from direct sun, rain, wind and other inclement weather.

By what remains it is not clear if a natural shelter has to comply with the same requirements as the constructed shelter....
I think the Key word is "direct"

The natural shelter shelter should be well drained and protect the livestock from direct sun, rain, wind and other inclement weather.

so you have a little room as long as you don't wind up on the wrong side of the local wacko....

I would make sure it was at least:

1. well drained
2. clean,...or at least clean as humanly possible..
3. Cleared of any Junk...cars...old equipment and fallen trees and brush piles.....
4. NOT SEEN,...if a busybody can jog, walk or drive by in her prious..and whine to her friends about how the poor cows are standing out in the rain..then it is someday going to be a problem.

out of sight,...out of mind,...and comply as best as a natural shelter can...

other wise the city farmer has perfected the cheap lean to shed.,...three sides, made form any sort of stockade fence, and a tin roof...ugly but cheap.

I have a barn, so I find the shed option (somewhat) distasteful but they do work to comply to the law.

 

[Ben H]

out of sight out of mind is a great point. So true. It's kinda hard to see my cows near their shelter and feeder from the road.
The stocker group has a barn they go in though...it's a manure storage building. The thing is that the manure comes from the barn primarily from cleaning horse stalls. It makes a beautiful bedded pack.