Tuesday, Mar. 09, 2010

Proposed hen rule doesn't fly in town

Town officials decided that hens aren't pets and shouldn't be kept in residents' backyards.

The Town Council this week chose not to change rules governing where chickens may be kept in the town. Hens are allowed only on town land zoned for agricultural purposes.

A motion that sought to allow for up to four hens on residential property - with a permit - failed for lack of a second.

Four of the town's five council members worried that hens would bring unwanted smells, noise and predators, increasing demand on animal control services. Others worried about a slippery slope.

"If we allow chickens, why not pot-belly pigs?" Mayor Dick Sears said before Tuesday's meeting. "I have a little problem with hens being referred to as pets."

Linda Hunt Williams, the councilwoman who made the motion, said other council members' concerns were overblown and that backyard hens could be a positive addition to neighborhoods.

"There's too much government control over too much of our lives," Williams said. "These families and these kids see them as pets, no matter how we see them."

Her failed motion came after a Holly Springs resident presented a case for backyard hens in the town, saying they make tasty eggs, provide organic fertilizer, kill insects and make for educational pets.