Venus Bontadelli and her family recently moved to Wyoming, seeking small-town community and small government in a rural area known for its agricultural traditions and history. However, the Bontadellis quickly found that the City of Powell was not the refuge from unfair government restrictions that they expected.
Venus is the proud pet owner of Porsche Lane, a baby Nigerian pygmy goat the Bontadellis consider a beloved member of the family. The realtor who sold them their new Wyoming home affirmed that there would be no problem with the 20-pound pet in their industrial area, which is barely within city limits, and Porsche quickly became a neighborhood fixture.
Then, the local government stepped in to evict the baby goat.
The City of Powell informed the Bontadellis that someone outside their neighborhood had complained about a goat within city limits. Porsche was prohibited under a local ordinance the Bontadellis had never heard of. The City would allow the family to keep her only if they were granted an exotic pet permit—even though others in the city have pet goats, seemingly without permits.
In Powell, exotic pet permits are granted by the City’s chief of police. If he denies a permit, the city council might consider granting one. There are no standards for how either body of the local government evaluates these applications.
When the City denied the Bontadellis’ permit, they were forced to give up the beloved family pet.
When the government grants occasional, standardless exceptions to broad prohibitions, Americans’ rights are left to the whims of individual government officials. This violates the constitutional right to due process under the law. It also violates Wyoming’s state constitution, which pointedly affirms that “[a]bsolute, arbitrary power over the lives, liberty and property of freemen exists nowhere in a republic, not even in the largest majority.”
Represented at no cost by Pacific Legal Foundation, Venus Bontadelli filed a lawsuit to challenge the City of Powell’s arbitrary denial of her pet permit and to fight for the right to bring Porsche Lane home.
What’s At Stake?
- When the government grants occasional, standardless exceptions to broad prohibitions, Americans’ rights are left to the whims of individual bureaucrats. This violates the constitutional right to due process under the law.
