Property owners found in contempt for animals

WILLIAMSTOWN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - A judge has found the owners of a mid-Michigan property that was at the center of a dispute over efforts to keep animals in contempt. Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie Aquilina ruled last Wednesday that Jeremiah and Jessica Hudson were in contempt of a Feb. 26 injunction banning livestock at their Sweet Pea farm, located in Ingham County's Williamstown Township. The township sued the Hudsons for violating zoning ordinances by operating the small farm on land zoned for residential use. The Lansing State Journal reports the Hudsons' attorney says they removed the animals last Tuesday. Aquilina ordered another hearing to determine attorney fees and costs. Jessica Hudson has said the Right to Farm Act should allow the family to keep animals such as goats, chickens, pot belly pigs and rabbits. Published: Mon, Jun 16, 2014