It looks likely that a St. Lazare resident who has kept horses for more than three decades will have to get rid of his two donkeys and a llama that now call a shady paddock on his property home.

“What harm does it cause?” resident Richard Lacroix asked members of St. Lazare council last week as he made a desperate appeal to be granted permission to keep the three animals on his property, where he also keeps five horses.

Although Lacroix can legally have horses on his property, which is located in an equestrian zone, it does not allow other farm animals, like cows, donkeys, llamas or goats.

Lacroix has kept the two donkeys for about a year, having rescued them from a farm where he said they were being neglected. The llama was added earlier this spring.

But last year his neighbours lodged a complaint with the town, claiming they fear their water well could be contaminated by runoff from the property where Lacroix keeps his horses.

Lacroix claims his neighbour – who has lived next door for about 30 years, a period of time that he has always kept horses – has never voiced concern in the past, nor has their water supply ever been contaminated. But new provincial environmental regulations stipulate that his horses cannot be kept in an area within 30 metres of a well.

In response, Lacroix has changed the configurations of his paddocks at the front of his property, restricting where his horses can roam. The move has necessitated the building of new fences and the relocation of sheds used by the horses to provide shelter from the sun.

The accommodations have caused him to incur expenses and stop using part of his approximately 10-acre property as he has for decades. But he has conceded to these requests. However, it was while city inspectors investigated the complaint that it was discovered he was also keeping two donkeys – Lemon and Choco – a llama named Zorro and three goats in another area of his property.

Although these other farm animals are kept far enough away from the neighbour’s well, and do not infringe on the provincial regulations, they are not permitted by the municipal zoning. And Lacroix has now been ordered to get rid of the animals.

“I am not running a zoo,” Lacroix said, although he explains that the donkeys and llama have been trained to be used for therapy to help children and adults who suffer from all forms of post-traumatic stress, and a trained therapist brings clients to his property for private therapy sessions.

“This is non-stop harassment,” Lacroix said in an interview with The 1019 Report. “They are a nuisance to nobody,” he added, referring to the donkeys, llama and goats.

“I don’t make noise. I don’t make parties. I am not a new-comer here. I want justice to prevail,” he said, arguing he bought his property back in 1972, when his land was zoned agricultural. The zoning was then changed to equestrian, when the town of St. Lazare looked to expand residential development in the area, but still allow property owners to keep horses.

Responding to Lacroix’s pleas for some sort of accommodation to allow him to keep his donkeys and llama, St. Lazare Mayor Geneviève Lachance was sympathetic to Lacroix’s situation, but explained the city has to enforce its zoning regulations.

“It’s not permitted,” Lachance explained during the June 11 council meeting. “The zoning does not permit it. You’re not in an agricultural zone.” Attempts to reach Lachance yesterday to further comment on whether any accommodations could be made for Lacroix went unanswered.