Regarding domestic fowls in the news

The Editor,

How interesting that two items concerning permission to own domestic fowl appeared in the same issue of the Sunny South News on May 5.

One item (1/4 page ad spread on page 5) concerns an existing commercial Confined Feeding Operation (CFO) seeking to increase the number of chicken broilers at the facility.

The other (two half-page spreads on pages 1 and 2) concerns a bylaw change to allow backyard raising of hens (but not roosters) in Picture Butte.

The CFO application seeks “to increase the chicken broiler numbers by 90,000” to bring capacity to 380,000 birds. The bylaw change seeks to allow for “a small wellcared-for flock of hens” in individual backyards by amending the Animal Regulations bylaw.

Both situations involve the opportunity for citizen input, via a statement of concern to the Natural Resources Conservation Board (NRCB) for the broiler chicken expansion and via an online petition to the Picture Butte town council for backyard hens.

Given the different perspectives on raising domestic fowls in the two applications, follow-up articles on the level of citizen participation and application outcome would be of interest to readers.

GAIL MICHENER

Please note that the name ‘Michener’ was misspelled in the original published version of this letter to the editor, and has since been corrected. The Sunny South News would like to apologize for any confusion or concern this may have caused.

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