On June 8, 2010, Vancouver city council passed a by-law that will permit Vancouver, British Columbia residents to keep up to four chickens in a coop. The by-law had been much discussed and maligned over the past year prior to its' quiet approval by council. Despite some vociferous opposition to the plan, Vancouver joins a growing list of North American cities to jump on the urban farming bandwagon. Kansas City also recently voted to change rules encouraging residents to turn lawns and vacant lots into food sources.
The approval of backyard chicken coops in Vancouver highlights the movement towards urban and sustainable farming and the increased desire of people to know where the food they eat comes from. The movement is so popular that the subject of raising chickens has its' own book in the Dummies series.
Benefits of Urban Farming
Raising chickens for eggs in a city setting is nothing new in North America. Seattle has designated 2010 the Year of Urban Agriculture. San Francisco and many California suburban locales permit urban farming and laws often go beyond simply raising chickens. Bee keeping for making honey or soap, and goats or rabbits to help make fertilizer or eat garbage is not uncommon in urban farming.
Carol Lloyd reported in the SF Gate, June 27, 2008, Urban Farming: Back to the land in your tiny backyard, that chickens not only supply fresh eggs, but also eat the weeds and bugs. Lloyd also notes that for many urban farmers the process is as much about saving the planet as food production. She points out that Albert Einstein once said that without bees, the human race can only survive four years.
An article titled Health Benefits of Urban Agriculture by Anne Bellows et al, for the Community Food Security Coalition notes the following about residential farming initiatives:
- Working outdoors triggers both illness prevention and healing responses.
- Community and residential gardening as well as small-scale farming promote nutrition.
- Urban area gardens and farms advance the health of the environment as well as that of human residents.
- Urban gardens and farms produce a surprising amount of poultry, fruits, veggies etc. Four hens produce three eggs a day.
Randy Shore noted in the Vancouver Sun, June 14, 2010, Want to keep backyard chickens? Here's what you need to know, that Vancouver resident Julia Smith "loves the idea of creating a home-based sustainable food system. Another benefit according to Ross Moster of sustainable living organization Village Vancouver is that chickens are simply "another way for neighbours to meet one another."
However some residents and groups are opposed to the idea of backyard chickens and small-scale urban farming.
Arguments Against Backyard Chicken Coops
The British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BCSPCA) are not in favour of backyard chicken coops. BCSPCA representative Geoff Urton told Sandra Thomas, Vancouver Courier, April 14, 2010, SPCA against backyard chickens, hopes for stringent licensing, that the SPCA holds numerous concerns about the prospect of allowing anyone to own chickens including:
- an inability by inexperienced owners to recognize symptoms of disease, injury and parasitic infection;
- the owner's ability to humanely euthanize a chicken or know someone who can;
- access to suitable food;
- how to access and safely transport chickens to veterinary care.
Waterloo, Ontario banned backyard chickens in 2009. Liz Monteiro, Therecord.com, April 7, 2009, Waterloo outlaws backyard chickens, noted the council voted against small-scale chicken raising in response to resident concerns about noise, smell and attracting skunks and rats to the neighbourhood. Some residents also had concerns about a decrease in property values if neighbourhoods allowed backyard chicken coops.
No matter which side of the fence residents sit on in this debate, Vancouver city council believe the benefits outweigh the negatives and backyard chicken coops are coming to Vancouver.
Lorah Delaney - Lorah is a native of Vancouver, British Columbia. She has a degree in Physical Education from the University of British Columbia and a ...
