It looks like Chatham-Kent Council will be sitting on the idea of backyard chickens a little bit longer before hatching a decision.
South Kent Councillor Anthony Ceccacci introduced a successful motion at Monday night's meeting to have another report come back to CK Council in the Spring of 2024.
That report will have more details on what a backyard chicken program would look like in Chatham-Kent, including a plan and a cost estimate for enforcement.
"I think that moving forward or saying 'yes' or 'no' right now is premature," said Ceccacci. "There are too many variables when it comes to costing as well as a lot of variables when it comes to enforcement and all that."
Ceccacci also recognized in his comments on the motion that having another report come back to Council in the Spring will mean dedicating more municipal staff time and resources to the issue but believes Council needs more information before making a decision one way or the other.
"At the end of the day, by approving this motion, it's not saying that we're going ahead with backyard chickens, but it is saying that we're going to have information so that we can make an educated decision or support the recommendations of administration," said Ceccacci.
North Kent Councillor Rhonda Jubenville also introduced a friendly amendment to Ceccacci's motion to have the report include information about what a pilot program for backyard chickens could look like.
The motion passed with by 11-4 vote with Mayor Darrin Canniff and councillors Carmen McGregor, Alysson Storey, and John Wright voting against it.
Ceccacci's motion followed an information report that was included in Monday night's agenda package, which showed that a survey conducted through Let's Talk Chatham-Kent three months ago on the issue of backyard chickens had almost 5,000 responses. Results showed 68.4 percent of the respondents were in favour backyard chickens, but only 45 percent were interested in having chickens themselves.
The Kent Federation of Agriculture has said it opposes backyard chickens in Chatham-Kent because it hurts egg farmers and chicken farmers, citing concerns specifically about the spread of avian influenza.
Chatham-Kent Public Health also noted that it does not endorse backyard chickens because of the elevated risk of transmission of infectious diseases posed by the birds in urban settings.
With files from Nancy Cheema and Paul Pedro
