Earlier today I received a letter and a pressrelease from www.farmsanctuary.org – an organization working as a shelter and sancturary for farmanimals amongst other things. They are very much against keeping backyard chicken coops. They believe that keeping poultry in your backyard, regardless of which chicken coop plans you decide to use or regardless of your knowledge in the field. At least that’s how I understood the press release.
They whish to force municipalities throughout the U.S. not to allow backyard flocks and exhorting those that are already zoned for this practice to establish and enforce strict regulations for the care of these birds.
While I am sure their intentions are good, I think they are a little bit too strict when they whish to make it illegal to keep backyard poultry. The way I see it there is no difference between keeping hamsters or chicken when it comes to the amount of care needed. I do welcome regulations of some sort but I think it would be better if people for instance would have to apply to be allowed to keep backyard chicken. It could be a local office for instance regulating the chicken coops and there could be certain space / noise / neighbour requirements for instance.
The Press Release We Received:
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – December 11, 2009 – Reacting to the increased popularity of backyard chicken flocks used for eggs in urban and suburban areas, a coalition of animal sanctuaries, comprising leading experts in avian care, has issued a public statement discouraging this trend. Coalition members include Read the rest of this entry »
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