A public meeting was held at Kitchener City Hall Thursday to discuss whether residents should be allowed to have backyard chickens.
The city says it surveyed 1,800 residents and 87 per cent who responded say they are on board with the idea.
The current bylaw does not permit residents to keep chickens and one of the options on the table is to stick with that bylaw.
Another option the city is considering is allowing backyard chickens with restrictions.
Those restrictions would include the number of hens, the size of their pens, and distance from neighbouring properties.
Heidi Wall says she wouldn’t mind regulation.
“I think it would be in the best interest of the hens and of neighbours and (of the community) but I also think people should be responsible enough to regulate their own chickens,” says Wall.
The final option would be to create a pilot project by selecting a ward that would test having backyard chickens.
There were a number of residents at the meeting who are opposed to backyard chickens.
Darnell Fogelton says she lived on a farm and doesn’t think keeping hens in the city is a good idea.
“The stench and the smell, you can hardly catch your breath. I’d have to close the kitchen door so I could eat breakfast because I was just nauseated,” says Fogelton.
The city says they are still looking for more feedback before they make a final decision on the bylaw.
With reporting by Allison Tanner
