The District of Sparwood is asking for public feedback on allowing residents to keep backyard chickens.
Mayor David Wilks said the survey comes from a lengthy discussion District Council had on the topic.
“Someone had come forward and asked if Council would consider allowing chickens, as in only those that lay eggs, within the District of Sparwood,” said Wilks. “There’s going to be some public consultation to get the lay of the land with the people in Sparwood.”
Wilks said a number of other considerations would have to be made, if the public were in support of the idea.
“If we were to move forward, there would be a number of things in place, such as how it would have to be fenced in, how far away it would be from property lines, would the fence need to be electrified, a number of things.”
According to Wilks, the District would allow a maximum of four to six hens, if the public and Council were in favour of the idea.
Another consideration that would have to be made, was safety regarding predatory animals.
“We already have challenges with bears during the fall season, and we have cougars in the area already,” said Wilks. “If we do plan on going forward with it, if that’s the will of the people, certainly there will be a lot of rules in place to ensure we do the best we can to mitigate any problems that may come forward.”
Wilks noted that allowing residents to keep chickens comes with a number of positives and negatives.
“Those that do take care of them, do a very good job of it, but there are those that forget there’s a lot of work to this. If you get lax in how you store your feed and how you clean them up, then it becomes a challenge,” said Wilks.
Residents can take the survey through the link below until 4 p.m. on May 24th.
More: Backyard Chicken Survey (District of Sparwood)
