Groups seek to ban large-scale animal farming in Sonoma County
Think “Sonoma County farm,” and most people will conjure an image of docile cows chewing cud or chickens scratching the dirt, idly whiling away their days among the grassy, green hills of this mostly rural, coastal Northern California county. But animal rights activists say all is not right in this region known for its wine and farm-to-fork sensibilities. They say there are two dozen large, concentrated animal farming operations — which collectively house almost 3 million animals — befouling watersheds and torturing livestock and poultry in confined lots and cages. And in an effort to stop it, they’ve collected more than 37,000 signatures from Sonoma County residents to put an end to it — forcing the county Board of Supervisors to either enact or match the ordinance themselves, or have it kicked over to the November ballot.