Why did the
chicken cross the road? To get out of
Cranbrook, of course. Not very funny, I admit, but then again neither was
the short-sightedness of Cranbrook City Council two weeks ago when by a six to
one margin it voted down the opportunity for city residents to raise a few
chickens in their back yards.
And maybe a goat
or two. I kid you not. (bad pun)
But now to get
serious in the week the whole world is talking about the 100th
anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic our City mothers and fathers sink the
hopes of all would-be urban farmers who would like to raise a few hens in their
back yard instead of covering it with grass and spraying it with chemicals to
make it greener than their neighbors. Or parking their derelict vehicles,
not-to-mention, their boats, trailers, ATV’s etc.
Urban chicken
husbandry is the latest thing many progressive municipalities are embracing from
big cities like Vancouver, Seattle
and New York to small towns like
Kingston, Niagara Falls and Castlegar, which is now considering it. And why
not? Back yard chickens are easy to
raise, cost very little, produce better eggs than you can buy in a store and
contribute mightily to food security and a sustainable life style, something
sadly lacking even in small communities like Cranbrook.
Kids love
chickens and they learn from them – and many adults too – that food is not a
manufactured product produced in a factory behind the supermarket and comes
wrapped in Styrofoam and loaded with chemicals to keep if “fresh.” This
realization has been largely lost in modern industrial society where it isn’t
“food” unless it comes in a package and is loaded with salt, sugar, trans –fats
and artificial sweeteners that keep many of us buzzed all day. And we wonder why
obesity is our number one public health issue.
In society
today, the link is largely broken between real food such as vegetables you grow
in your yard and chickens you may someday hopefully be allowed to raise. I think
society is largely worse off for this as
is our health. Some cities, like New York, are going even farther than chickens
and allowing people to have bee hives in their yards or on their roofs. This is
no small matter as North America and Europe are now in the grip of fighting
colony collapse disorder.
So why can’t we
in the supposedly “Key City” get real about practicing a little back yard animal
husbandry, be it chickens, goats or bees. Sure there will be some issues like
noise (no cock-a-doodling roosters
allowed), smell (although a little earthy barn yard smell would be more pleasant
than some odors you smell in this town)
licensing, permitting and such. A reasonable husbandry fee would help to pay for
enforcement costs and fencing would be an obvious requirement to keep the
chickens et al in the yard and not out on the streets pestering people like the
#!!@#%$&!! deer.
In addition to
laying rich, brown eggs with deep, yellow yokes that produce golden breakfast
omelets, chickens are also a valuable
source of meat and are the greatest recyclers of unwanted human food on two
legs. They love food scraps fresh from the table and supplement that with a bit of cheap grain and you have
an animal recycling machine second to none. Yes, chicken waste smells, but if
you mix it in your compost pile it produces great manure for your garden next
year.
What more do you
want Cranbrook? Or should that be Cranbrook Council? And keep in mind that a
Calgary resident has launched a Charter challenge against Cowtown’s anti-chicken
bylaw arguing that the ban is discriminatory under the Canadian Charter of Rights as well as Article 25 of the United
Nations Declaration of Human Rights because growing one’s food in a reasonable
way is an “inalienable human right” according to the UN
Declaration.
Did it cross the
minds of the councillors that voted in favour of the chicken ban that they were
messing with an “inalienable human right?” Probably not. But all is not lost
because the issue can be brought forward to Council again in six
months.
At that time, I
hope Council doesn’t chicken out and does the right thing.
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| Listening in |
Another naive and romantic view of backyard farming on small City lots. Gerry, have you ever lived next door to goats or chicken coops? They stink to high heaven in confined spaces. Compost with feces harbours pathogens & is a public health issue. Animal feed and egg-laying attract rats, mice and skunks, flies and disease. Animals would have to be slaughtered every fall... city kids do not accept this as well as farm kids do.
ReplyDeleteCity lots could support only 3-4 chickens, never profitable after paying to build a brooder coop, secure fencing, permits, feed, vet bills, a truck to haul away manure, etc, etc.
Instead, let's support local farmers who responsibly provide meat, poultry and eggs at reasonable prices.
We do not need another animal problem to add to the deer, cat and dog issues. Bunnies are cute until the novelty wears off & some are let loose to overrun the City. Our City has far better ideas to pursue than backyard mayhem.
Good grief,What a rant!
ReplyDeleteThe point is to only have 2-3 hens, and if I choose to spend my money on them instead of atv's and dirt bikes, that is my buisness (as well as how I raise my kids.
Poor animal care and slovenly behaviour are unhealty, attract vermin, and are public health risks regardless of if you have a dog, cat, chicken or no animals at all.
I for one dont want hens to turn a profit, it is about having choices. I agree, lets support local farmers who employ responsible practices, I hardly think a few pet hens would be a threat to their livelyhoods!
...and as to manure...as a gardener, I pay money for it, I have tended a flock of 3 hens in the past (with no smell) so I know what a small volume that amounts too. Anyone in the city can feel free to shovel it into a rubbermaid and bring it by my place (although I am sure the community gardens would love to have it as well!)