City Tells Owner of 20 Goats To 'Butt Out' Of Detroit Neighborhood

DETROIT (CBS Detroit) After butting heads with the city of Detroit, a group seeking to raise goats in the city has apparently given up -- for now.

It started last week when hedge fund manager Mark Spitznagel brought 20 young goats from his farmstead in Northport, Mich., to the Brightmoor neighborhood of Detroit as part of a plan to promote urban renewal and farming, according to the New York Times.

The city objected, and Spitznagel ended up taking his goats and going home. If he hadn't vacated the pen by noon Monday, the city's animal control threatened him with a $500 ticket per goat.

Neighborhood resident Robert Parker thinks the city should have given the goats a chance.

"I mean, to take them right back out like that, no, don't do that," he said.

The goal was for them to chew away at overgrown weeds that fill blocks and blocks to help the city eradicate blight. Local businessman Joe Selden said he appreciates anyone coming in to help the area.

"It was good when I stayed here in 1973, I grew up in the neighborhood, so my parents stay in the neighborhood ..." he said, adding the city should accept any help it can get to bring the area back.

He added he hopes the goats' owner finds a way to bring them back -- legally.