The local Twitterverse (myself included) buzzed a bit about last night's great goat debate of 2009 during the Charlotte City Council meeting.

Good news: You're free to get a pony. Bad news: You can't have a pygmy goat.

Twitter user @prettyannoyed summed up the Council's decision well: "NOOOOOOOO #GoatDebate09 ends in DENIAL! You suck, council."

The Council yakked on about all things pygmy goat related for an hour. Here's more from Charlotte.com:

Pygmy goats Alvin and Buckley won't be coming home to Fourth Ward, the City Council decided Monday.

After more than an hour of debate, the council failed to pass an ordinance change that would have exempted the goats from a quarter-acre pasture requirement that applies to certain livestock in the city.

Local lawyer Jeff Koenig has been trying to bring the pygmy goats back to his townhome on Settlers Lane since last fall, when the city's animal control officers told him they broke the city's rules. The goats have been living in the country while Koenig twice applied for permits and lobbied council members to change the animal ordinance.

The discussion at Monday's council meeting ranged widely – from descriptions of the goats' eating habits to a question about whether the city could require goat castration.

By the way, what in the hell is a pygmy goat?

Yeah. They look like a real threat to society.