Livid about Animal Control inspections

[Electrofish]

I've had my coop for six months and chickens I raised from chicks this spring. Since that time, I've had THREE Animal Control officer inspections (No I don't have any Roosters), and was just informed that an officer is over at my house right now "inspecting" while I'm at work. This Gestapo direction our NWO government is taking borders on harassment IMO. My permits are paid and I'm under the allotted number of birds, coop is plenty big enough for my small flock.
I live in Utah, Salt Lake. Is there anything can be done to get the nazis out of my life?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Welcome to BYC
I understand feeling frustrated, but I think your ire is likely misdirected. I would suspect that these inspections are resulting from reports/complaints - AC is obligated to follow up on every report/complaint they receive, so if someone is hoping to irritate you out of the poultry keeping hobby it isn't really AC's fault that they have to come and make repeated inspections at your property, rather that of the neighbor(s) contacting them.

 

[Electrofish]

Aha... okay, thank you very much for that information. That explains everything. Next door is the crazy meth head neighbor with 14 cats and they're very interested in my coop and chickens. The twisted mental logic neighbor actually blames me for his feral cats hunting in my yard, and gets angry when he can't find one of the poop-covered matted fur dreadlocked felines.
I still don't like AC victimizing the victims though.

 

[Blooie]

Rather than looking at it like you're being victimized, focus instead on the positive. Your coop and run are inspected - maybe more regularly than you'd like - and they've never found a problem. That makes you a wonderful ambassador against the "chickens are nasty, dirty things that don't belong in urban backyards" mentality. That also means that you would be a credible spokesperson if a campaign to eliminate backyard chickens in city limits rears its ugly head, as it has in other communities. It's quite possible that visiting your coop and run setup is something that the animal control officers don't mind doing after all of the other horrible things they see in a day - after hours of checking up on animal hoarders, puppy mills, and other atrocities, your place must restore their faith in human beings as compassionate and caring folks who can and do take proper care of the critters they have. Like a breath of fresh air to them!

As a town official here myself, I can tell you that being called Nazis and Gestapo and other such names just for doing what we are told to do hits kinda hard. What if you had a complaint and the officials didn't follow up on it? Would you be angry that your concerns were dismissed without action? It's been my experience that the "victim" of these complaints sees the visits and the paperwork as horrible intrusions - unless they suddenly have reason to file a similar complaint. Then they watch to see how long it takes the officials to get over to the neighbor's place, in some cases actually timing how long it took!

So it's an inconvenience, sure. It's also frustrating that you have someone in your area who holds such a grudge. But believe me, it's not the AC agents with the grudge - they just have the clipboard with their instructions on it. If you can, next time they show up go out there with a smile and good attitude, thanking them for their concern for your animals and their diligence in acting upon complaints. Or if their work hours and yours coincide, then take a minute to write them a nice note telling them you appreciate the way they've done their job while respecting your property and showing their dedication to the community they serve. Tell them that you regret that they are called out so often for no reason, and that you are proud that they have found no violations. They already know you show that same concern for your chickens so you have common ground. Won't be long before the next time a complaint from the same neighbor comes before them they'll say, "Oh, we know them, and there is no problem there." Good luck - oh, and congratulations on the great care your birds are getting......all of those visits and not a citation one is a giant pat on your back!

 

[WYNot]

Fence in your yard and put padlocks on the gates. If they want to trespass, let them make an appointment or a warrant. There is no excuse or reason for ANY gov official to set foot on private property with out invitation, consent, or warrant. Nothing personal against you Blooie but there is no way I would thank them for their repeated intrusions. The AC needs to step up and tell the person complaining that if they call again for unsubstantiated claims, then THEY will be ticketed/fined/charged.

We went through something similar years ago with our Husky. He loved the cold weather. He'd sleep in the middle of the yard in a blizzard rather than in a dog house. We had is dog house tucked in under a large pine tree to give it extra shelter, he always had food and fresh water. He'd use the doghouse when it was wet or raining but he much preferred to just sleep out in the open especially if it was cold and snowy, he wanted to be in the middle of it. Our nosey neighbor behind us decided she didn't like the fact that he slept outside in the middle of the yard and called AC... twice in one week. No issues found by AC. Both times AC came to the door and asked permission to check on the dog. They did not just walk into our back yard. After 2nd call, the AC went to her house and said if she called for a bogus reason again he would charge her with anything and everything he could find; harassment, filing false claims, etc.

 

[Fluffnpuff]

Is there anything can be done to get the nazis out of my life?

Unfortunately unless you have the resources or connections needed to hire lawyers to file lawsuits, there isn't much you can do. I would get some sort of video cameras on your property asap to record all interactions with city employees in case you need evidence should this turn nasty and result in a court appearance. Aside from that just keep making sure you follow the rules to a tee, and try to be polite to the animal control agents. They are just doing what some supervisor told them and being angry at them probably won't accomplish anything.

It could very well be a neighbor calling animal control multiple times a day or the city could be low on funds and simply sent out calls to revenue generate as much as possible by writing as many fines and citations as possible.