Thursday, May 6, 2010

The door isn’t closed on chickens in London. Good thing too.

Keeping egg-laying hens inside city limits didn’t get the thumbs up last Monday night at City Hall but council at least voted '11 - 7 in favour of a motion looking at food security and reviewing bylaws of other cities that allow chickens.’ (Today’s issue of The Londoner)

With a reasonable amount of public education, I think the majority of Londoners could live with chickens in their backyard - or neighbourhood at least. But, for certain, public education is needed.

Chickens require safe, secure, clean, heated coops and urban-centered citizens need more information.

This is just my opinion, but I think there are some similarities between keeping chickens and riding a motorcycle.

As a motorcyclist I can honestly say that riding a bike is not as easy as falling off a log or making an omelette. Training is required, and the three-tiered licensing system makes sense.

You want chickens? I think you should take a course of reasonable length. And pass a reasonable test. And get a reasonably priced license. And give a thumbs up to an initial and (thereafter) annual inspection of the coop.

Fewer neighbours would squawk if reasonable measures were in place.

They might even learn that there is such a thing as a free lunch (well, almost) and get into the act themselves one day.

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Public education is the key to the backyard henhouse.

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