Source: The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/28/nyregion/28COWS.html?ex=1055131486&ei=1&en=6805fc1d78e8a667
On April 28, 2003 The New York Times reported that "the village [of Angelica, NY] sued Stephen and Linda Voith last year, accusing them of illegally keeping the animals in the backyard of their home on Main Street. The Voiths, who are followers of the Krishna Consciousness movement, say their freedoms are being violated because they keep the animals for religious purposes... The Voiths say their creatures are holy and should be treated as family pets. 'The cow is especially holy because she gives milk,' Mr. Voith said. In court documents, the Voiths mention a religious practice called Padayatra, which is a type of chanting with cows and carts in procession. The neighbors consider the cows to be smelly farm animals that attract flies and soil public streets. That three-year-old disagreement, in a community that numbers only 900 residents, has steadily grown more disagreeable, with complaints made to the courts, the state police and even the Federal Bureau of Investigation."