Emma Bates has done her research.
Bates knows the types of chickens best suited to her backyard. She knows which ones are child-friendly for her toddler to help her learn. She's researched what coops are needed and how keeping chickens can help her household become self-sustaining.
“We live in Powassan and this is a rural area. We should be allowed to have chickens in our backyard,” says Bates, who received her wish Tuesday with Powassan council passing a new bylaw.
The municipality's original backyard chicken bylaw of 2007 did not allow residents with less than five acres to have chickens.
“There was an issue between two neighbours and this bylaw was to help solve that problem,” Mayor Peter McIssac explained in January. “But there are better ways to manage every situation. We need to have people be responsible for the animals and not force people to get rid of them.”
Natasha Krause has had chickens on her 10-acre property for four years. She admits she didn’t know anything about raising chickens; relying on her husband’s farm knowledge and trial and error when she first started.
Krause says it's minimal work taking care of chickens.
“I know there are a lot of people who want chickens,” she says. “Especially given the circumstances that we find ourselves in with COVID-19 and food shortages, there are just things happening all over the place. So people want to be more self-sufficient. They want those chickens, they want eggs and they want meat.”
Coun. Markus Wand agrees, saying COVID-19 has stressed the importance of allowing people to have their own source of food.
Wand says he hopes people will care for the birds even after the “novelty” has worn off.
Coun. Randall Hall said he prefers a complaint-driven process rather than a bylaw restricting people from raising chickens.
Mayor McIssac admitted no bylaw is perfect.
“I hope people don’t run out and buy chickens without seeing they have to house them in the winter. Having backyard chickens is not a short process. Hopefully, they know they have to maintain them.”
Mackenzie Casalino, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter. The North Bay Nugget
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
