A New Brunswick family is vowing to keep two beloved horses, despite their village’s decision not to rezone their property to allow the horses to be housed there.
Gerry and Yan Dangremond moved to Salisbury, N.B., from the Netherlands four years ago with their daughters.
They bought a property in the village with a barn, thinking it would be the perfect place to house their horses, Misty and Reiner.
READ MORE: Zoning issues may cost New Brunswick family their horses
However, they soon received a notice from the village that their property was zoned residential and not agricultural, meaning the horses would have to go.
“They were very concerned about contamination of the wells we all live on in Salisbury,” Gerry Dangremond said. “We have a five-and-a-half-acre property, two horses. It’s absolutely no threat to the well at all.”
WATCH: Global News coverage of the Dangremond family’s fight to keep their horses
So, armed with a petition bearing 800 names and with the help of Saint John lawyer and former MP Paul Zed, the Dangremonds headed to village council to apply for rezoning.
But on Tuesday evening, council voted three to two against the application.
Gerry Dangremond, who made a presentation at the meeting, says she doesn’t know what the family will do next.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen next. I don’t know,” she said. “We are not going to give up that easily.”
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Dangremond says they will have to consult with Zed to see if there is anything they can do to appeal the decision, but maintains the animals will not be moved in the meantime.
“They are going to stay in the field on our property where they belong,” she said.
She adds she feels her family’s treatment by council has been “unfair,” considering there are other bylaw infractions in the village.
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