| Higgins recounts the story of Caryn Ernst and how D.C. police and animal control agents swooped down on her family's Capitol Hill home in June when they discovered that Ernst and her daughters were raising some chickens in their back yard as part of an elementary school science project. After the chickens were taken away, Ernst started digging into D.C. law and discovered that it is nearly impossible to raise backyard chickens in the District of Columbia. Animal control regulations require that chickens be kept at least 50 feet from the nearest residence.
Ernst took her concerns to local Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), who, with Ernst's assistance, drafted a new law that would ease restrictions on keeping chickens. That bill is now in the hands of Councilmember David Catania (I-At Large), pending a hearing before the Council's Committee on Health, which Catania chairs.
In the meantime, Ernst and fellow chicken enthusiast Amanda Cundiff have started a petition drive in support of backyard chickens at the DC Food for All blog, a collaborative effort of local food access advocates. Ernst and Cundiff have presented Catania with 130 signatures of D.C. resients in favor of a new chicken law.
In the latest development, Catania's staff has suggested that the issue could be resolved by Animal Control officials, without the need for a new law. Ernst and Cundiff say they now plan to present their petition to Animal Control.
The bill written by Tommy Wells would permit keeping hens for laying eggs, not meat, and it would prohibit roosters, which make too much noise. Still. Wells' bill would be far more restrictive than chicken legislation in other jurisdictions--including city's such as New York--because it would require that anyone wishing to keep hens obtain written permission from 80 percent of neighbors living within 100 feet.
Backyard chickens have been embraced by a surging local food movement as a boon to those who want to eat more healthfully, more sustainably and more cheaply. If that applies to you, by all means sign the petition. |
