Bob Buttner and Jennifer Verive, CCPE
Apparently, on the slaughterhouse floor in our neighborhood. On the Planning Commission’s agenda on 9/29 at 5 PM is a proposal to locate a slaughterhouse across the street from our neighborhood — within sight of our kids’ school bus stop, 900 feet from the Villa Sierra Mobile Home Park, and 1,056 feet from the Morgan Mill Road recreational area. Whoa! We’re a-OK with the facility, it’s the location that totally sucks — it just doesn’t seem right to us to have this kind of business in town. We have concerns.
The big concern is the open corral — where “typically” up to 60 animals will be held awaiting harvest, with exceptions made “plus or minus” six times a year to house up to 120 animals during “local events”. The special use permit application doesn’t define what a “local event” is — might see some new culinary options at those Downtown Wine Walks or the Candy Dance.
Open corrals mean exposed manure. (An authors’ note: We worked very hard to use polite words that weren’t offensive. We all know that cattle pens and stock yards are full of C&%P.) We did the calculations – 120 animals produce over a ton of manure a day. With manure (nice word right) comes the ‘slaughterhouse stench’ – sure to be enjoyed by many as our arid, windy climate moves that fecal matter-laced dust around. Whether our community is exposed for one day a week or three or more (during those “local events”), those days are likely going to cause some of us to get sick. And if the air doesn’t, well…the stable flies will. They multiply quickly, live up to 10 days, and bite hard. They’re known to carry disease and pathogens. Guess we’re used to that these days.
Open corrals mean bellowing. Animals are loud. We did the research – some studies find that slaughterhouse decibel levels can be as high as .92db, in the Very-Loud-Dangerous-For-Over-30-Minutes range. The cattle bellow on their last day as they are only watered and not fed which means every dog for a mile will be barking and howling all night. Might see some behavioral problems at the animal shelter, too.
Open corrals mean coyotes and bobcats. We keep the “did you see that brazen coyote trotting down the street” fun neighborhood list of the occasional coyote sightings; they’re already here. Our concern is that slaughterhouse smells (death, blood, dismemberment, disembowelments) and the corral smell will draw in many more of these predators who start hunting cats and small dogs after being unsuccessful at the corrals.
The company who proposed this slaughterhouse already got turned down in Douglas County. Location matters. We Carsonites are a welcoming bunch, but we don’t think a slaughterhouse located on a historic highway at the Eastern gateway to our community is the way to welcome tourists.
We’ll be speaking in opposition to this proposal at the Planning Commission meeting– and we hope that you’ll join us.
We’d like your help in another way, too. Maybe it’s time for us to solve this problem. Our community values ranching and agriculture. Our community values small businesses. We propose creating a committee to work with our lawmakers, real estate agents, and others to find a suitable location for this meat processing plant.
We believe in Farm-to-Table – we just want the beef to be about four miles away from where people live, work, and recreate. Communities across our great nation have already figured it out — that’s the distance needed to avoid the odor, the bad air, and the flies, and to keep our beloved four-legged companions tranquil and safe. That’s what we all want, right? To peacefully enjoy our homes and community.
(We are The Coalition of Citizens for Peaceful Enjoyment, and we’re here to see this through!)
