Chickens coming to a yard near you

Wayne Moore - Mar 24, 2009 Castanet:
Residents in Vernon may not be running a-fowl of the law if a new bylaw meets with City Council approval. On Monday, Council asked staff to craft a bylaw which would make it legal for citizens within City limits to keep possibly between three and six chickens in their backyard. Vernon Mayor, Wayne Lippert, expects the bylaw will come back to Council sometime in April and could receive final reading shortly thereafter. "Staff were asked to look at other communities in cities where chickens are allowed to see what is working and what isn't working. We don't need to re-invent the wheel here," says Lippert. "There are no roosters and there is discussion of having an annual permit be required to allow bylaw officers to check and make sure the bylaw is being followed." The 'Backyard Chicken Bylaw' was brought to council from individuals within the community who already had chickens, which Lippert says was in contravention of the current bylaw. "The attitude before was this is a city, keep it in the rural area. There are a lot of people who want to know where their food comes from. It's an option. It won't be for everybody, but it will be for some." Lippert says there is no fear a Backyard Chicken Bylaw could lead to other farm type animals being allowed within city limits. "We're not trying to turn the entire city into a barnyard. Research that has been done states that chickens, on a limited basis, don't seem to have any health or environmental issues. We need to play it by ear."

Vancouver is currently in the process of crafting a similar bylaw. Surrey and Nanaimo already have a bylaw in place. Kelowna Councillor, Michele Rule, has also gone on record as saying she supports such a move in Kelowna and is prepared to open the debate at a future Council meeting.