From cats to chickens the town now sees itself on the cusp of yet another pet controversy.
Are chickens pets? That question is the root of the latest debate, one which started back in May with the trials of Lisa Reid's beloved birds named Kentucky, Baked, Crispy and Fried. They were busted and away we went with the Great Chicken Flap of Innisfail.
Three months later on Aug. 20 council seemed unsure of what to make of this feathered controversy and has thrown the testy issue over to the people to decide, likely through a survey of sorts in early September.
Council members were loathe to go to first reading on Aug. 20 with a meticulously prepared and researched administration draft Urban Chicken Bylaw designed to allow up to eight fowl-loving households at a time to harbour pet chickens. That's one for every 1,000 residents. Hardly something that would create a scene out of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds.
But council members do have the unenviable mandate to make the occasional tough decision on what is best for the community, and what the community at large wants.
On the pet chicken issue at least one town councillor does not want chickens as pets. Coun. Glen Carritt says it doesn't make sense and that the town has "enough noisy things." But, added Carritt, if the people want pet chickens let them have them.
Both Mayor Jim Romane and Coun. Doug Bos say having pet chickens wouldn't be any worse than the many "yappy" dogs in town. But Bos did add there was plenty of mixed feelings about the issue and it would be "interesting" to see how Innisfailians respond to a survey. In the meantime, Romane says he's been told chickens do make clicking noises but he too wants the community to decide.
There is a growing evidence throughout the province that many communities, both small and large, don't think there is much to fuss about when it comes to pet chickens and have created reasonable bylaws to allow citizens to habour lovable fowl. Yes, they click but properly quartered and out of view in a backyard they pose no threat or annoyance to anyone.
Citizens of Innisfail are about to get the chance to have their say, one that will likely lead to council's final decision.
This final ruling may come from a process that is at least a bit unorthodox, but it is democracy, clumsy as it may seem.
As for Kentucky, Baked, Crispy and Fried, there will be better days ahead, even if they're resigned along the way to just click, or rather cluck, each one away.
Johnnie Bachusky is the editor of the Innisfail Province.
