Linda and Stephen Voith’s reverence for cows is yet again in the news as the Angelica, New York-based family filed an appeal against a court injunction that asks them to remove cows from their property.
The Voiths, American Hindus belonging to the Hare Krishna movement, have challenged the order of State Supreme Court Justice Michael Nenno, terming it an infringement of their religious freedom.
The appeal, filed in Rochester’s Fourth Department Appellate Court, notes that the cows are religiously revered and sacred for them and that the order violates their civil rights. Further, it notes that the Voiths were denied their due process and their right to a fair trial in 2003, when Judge Nenno refused to allow them to raise a First Amendment defense, dismissing the family’s counterclaims against the village of Angelica for deprivation of religious rights.
During the trial, Judge Nenno threatened the family’s attorney, Ross Scott with sanctions for using the word “religion,” and then granted the Village a mandatory permanent injunction without allowing the family an opportunity to testify or bring in witnesses, the appeal notes.
“This is a terrible precedent for civil rights. It is not the way the American judicial system is supposed to work,” Linda Voith told India Abroad.
“The village allows a beef farm to operate right across the street from our home,” Stephen Voith said. “If they allow cows for secular reasons within the village, they should allow religiously revered cows too.”
The problem apparently lies in the word religion. “Judge Nenno would not even hear the word religion,” Linda Voith said. “He ruled that this has nothing to do with religion, and threatened to take action if that word was used again.”
The appeal noted the importance of cows in Hinduism, and even cites a quote from Mahatma Gandhi to this effect: ‘Cow-protection is an article of faith in Hinduism. If someone were to ask me what the most important outward manifestation of Hinduism was, I would suggest that it was the idea of cow-protection. No one who does not believe in cow-protection can possibly be Hindu.’
The Voiths bought two and a half acres of land in Angelica in 1994, moving there with the intention of operating a Vedic Cow Protection and Agricultural Center. The appeal notes that shortly after the Voiths settled there, neighbors and village officials began creating problems.
The village has a law that states that anyone who owns cattle has to have at least 10 acres of land for grazing. In accordance, the Voiths leased 12 acres of land across the street. The village, however, objected, on the grounds that the land was contiguous to their home and that, therefore, the Voiths were not in compliance of the law.
The village then sued the Voiths, who countered with the contention that keeping cows was part of their religious beliefs. The appeal notes that the couple does not keep “farm animals” as defined by the New York State Agricultural and Markets Law, but only keeps cows for religious purposes as required by their Hindu religion. “And in any event, their property comprised more than the 10 acres needed for exemption from the permit requirement,” the appeal notes.
After Judge Nenno’s mandatory order, the couple moved to the Lakshmi Cow Sanctuary in Bangor, Pennsylvania by invitation of its owner Dr. Shankara Sastri, a retired Dean of the NYC Technical College of the City University of New York. Dr. Sastri lives alone at the sanctuary with about a dozen cows for company.
Six months later, the Voiths returned to Angelica and decided to appeal the decision. The village now has 30 days to file a counter affadavit. The Voiths and their six cows are now stationed at Alfred, a 20-minute drive from Angelica. “We expect we will win in the appeal,” StephenVoith told India Abroad.
