A while back, the Georgia Straight published an article by Leanne McConnachie, director of farm animal programs for the Vancouver Humane Society, opposing the legalization of backyard chickens by Vancouver city council. McConnachie argues that many people lack the “financial resources, husbandry knowledge, or permanency in their housing situation to properly care for their animals”. She states that she is reminded daily of “abuse, neglect, and irresponsibility towards domestic, farm, and exotic animals, despite the availability of training services and humane education programs”. Simply put, the Vancouver Humane Society fears that allowing people to keep backyard chickens will create a situation that may breed massive neglect and unethical treatment of these birds due to a lack of education and financial resources at the disposal of many backyard chicken owners.
The situation is entirely plausible. After all, plenty of people have improperly cared for dogs, cats, birds and—like a university roommate of mine—have allowed algae to grow so badly in their aquarium that it chokes the life out of all of their fish. Many people have no idea how to care for sick pets, much less clean up after them on the sidewalk. Back in 2006 a Didsbury, Alberta, man was convicted of animal cruelty after dragging the family dog to death behind a car. People can be absent-minded, lazy, neglectful and downright sadistic to animals in their care. So McConnachie has a point.
Yet, we still allow people to keep dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, and an array of insects and arachnids as pets, despite the annoying-at-best and horrendous-at-worst actions of some pet owners (plus we let just about anyone have a baby with few strings attached beyond severe neglect). Most pets require no training, no certification, and certainly no verification of sanity on the part of the pet owner. If I recall, my own dog only required a phone call to register for a licence—and they took my word for it when they asked if the dog had been neutered. There is little assurance, outside of a general understanding between the city and the licensee, that the animal will be treated properly and humanely by the owner.
Perhaps keeping animals for food production is a bit different, but in the grand scheme of things a backyard chicken functions in many ways like a traditional pet. You clean the coop, provide it with food, let it out once in a while, and gather the presents (pleasant or otherwise) it leaves for you sporadically. Chickens aren’t very complicated creatures to take care of compared to animals kept as pets.
On the other hand, concerns about noise and waste have been expressed as well. They are, once again, valid concerns. However, certain breeds of chickens are less noisy than others. Not only that, but there is no guarantee that a licensed dog will not be loud and annoy the neighborhood with 24-hour barking. What is a clucking chicken compared to an angry Rottweiler? How about the sound of semi-trucks driving by on busy streets? It’s a matter of preference, I suppose.
As for waste, chicken poo can certainly be disgusting and may smell. Then again, it’s probably no more disturbing than the meat scraps and vegetable waste (among other things) that many citizens toss out in their garbage every day. Chicken waste, if you’re not feeding them meat, can be tossed in with the rest of your compost or compost pickup with your recycling (if that service applies in your area). The practical issues aren’t so bad, if properly managed.
If we’re so worried about the treatment and ethical care of chickens, perhaps we need to think beyond the yes-chickens/no-chickens position presented by the Vancouver Humane Society. The question should be, if we’re going to allow backyard chickens how can we do it in a way that both respects the freedom of the individual/family/community to raise their own food while ensuring the safety and respect of the animals that they utilize to do it? Rather than pooh-poohing the notion altogether, why not come up with some solutions that can help manage the problem?
It’s clear that there can be no assurance that chickens kept for food will be kept in an ethical fashion. At the same time, it’s also clear that we allow people to keep an incredible variety of animals (and don’t forget babies) with the same limited amount of assurance. Animals kept for pets don’t even have the utilitarian purpose of food production, either. Why not come up with a transparent licensing system that allows authorities to track who has chickens, just in case of abuse and neglect? Why not require a short course (provided by the municipality at minimal cost, of course) on the proper care of food animals requiring a certificate of completion to ensure that backyard chicken farmers know what they are doing and can be held accountable if they fail to uphold their ethical responsibilities?
There certainly must be a way this can be done to uphold the right of people to feed themselves and their neighbours as well as the right of animals to live in a clean and happy environment while they do it. She is right, in that the real solution to ending animal cruelty lies in the operation of factory farms. Unfortunately, the public outcry against these monstrous operations isn’t at the point where we can seriously challenge this yet. We can’t keep everyone entirely happy in this situation, but we can certainly find a compromise that will respect the concerns of all parties involved.
Photo courtesy Sarah Gilbert with a CC license.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree. Backyard chickens, yes. Low-cost licensing, yes; and when that licensing is issued provide literature on how to care for your chickens.
Licensing sounds like a good idea. If people in the city don’t like it let them know about the rules and regs that farmers have to abide with (water, health, packaging, meat regulations) to provide them with eggs and chicken. It’s all part of the “new, improved” methods for producing food that we let our gov’t impose on us.
Of course we should be concerned about the treatment of backyard chickens. After all, we all know their situation is so much better on those wonderful factory farms, living in those tiny little cages where they would be expressing their joy by peck each other to death if they didn’t have their beaks cut off.
Well said, Jan. It’s pretty clear that backyard chicken ethical issues are NOTHING compared to the injustices of factory farming.
The great thing about municipal bylaws is their ability [mandate] to respond to local issues. Backyard chickens may not be right for everyone everywhere, but a polarizing issue such as this is a great opportunity for dialogue between neighbors and engagement in the most accessible (though seemingly most neglected) level of government. Here’s a perfect chance for people to stand-up for food security and take part in the political discourse.
Watch a video sometime on factory farming. 125,000 chickens in one barn. Crawling on top of each other. Some dragging themselves around, can’t walk. Open sores everywhere. Housed in huge dark cramped factory barns. No daylight. Fed frankenfood. etc