INNISFAIL – It was five years ago in 2017 when Innisfail pet chicken owner Lisa Reid came to town council to question a bust from a local peace officer for having illegal pet chickens.
Council looked at the issue and directed administration to prepare a plan to see if citizens wanted to legalize pet hens.
There was a comprehensive public survey that showed overwhelming support. However, it was rejected by town council at the time.
But in 2020 the hen issue was raised again by Coun. Don Harrison, and the following year a two-year pilot program was launched.
With that program officially ending on April 30, 2023, the town had to decide whether to keep it or just let it run its course; never to be raised again.
On May 8, following a second staff review that again showed overwhelming public support for pet hens, town council approved third reading of the Urban Hen Keeping Bylaw by a vote of 4 – 2.
A permanent pet chicken program in the Town of Innisfail is now a fact.
And the debate is finally over.
Instead of just five pet hen licences that was granted under the pilot program there will now be up to 20 allowed at an annual fee of $65 for each approved licence.
Neighbour permission will no longer be required; only notification that a completed application has been received from an adjacent neighbour.
“I hope we can move forward. I hope all the residents co-operate with each other. And now we can move forth with having urban hens in our community,” said Harrison, the key public figure responsible for the town’s turn around on pet chickens. “I am really happy with the outcome.”
Mayor Jean Barclay was one of the two members of town council who voted no to the new urban hen bylaw, not because she’s against pet chickens but was against removing the neighbours’ permission requirement.
“I felt that was such an important component of the pilot project going forward. I think that gives a lot of comfort when you have to have permission from the neighbours,” said the mayor last month after two readings for the new bylaw was passed by council.
Harrison, however, noted that only two of the more than 50 responses the town received from its most recent public survey on pet hens mentioned the neighbours’ permission requirement.
“With that, and with the rules with what's required to obtain a license, I think we were pretty solid on not having to have actual permission from the neighbour. Notification is probably good enough,” said Harrison. There wasn't a big push back on the neighbours having to be notified.”
