Resident cries fowl after St. Thomas City Council 'chickens out' on backyard hen project
With a brand new coop in her backyard, Kay Vaughan is crying fowl, after city council in St. Thomas, Ont. closed the door on allowing backyard hens.
"They chickened out,” said Vaughan.
Vaughan and her family converted their tree house after seven of nine council members were on board with a pilot project to allow backyard hens in April 2023.
However, a report from staff with concerns over the avian flu saw them change course Monday night. Staff recommended putting the project on hold for one year.
“Although I’m generally in favour of this, I’m also in favour of deferring it for a year,” said Coun. Steve Wookey.
“It’s a tough decision, but the reasoning the city has laid out makes sense to me,” added Coun. Tara McCaulley.
St. Thomas, Ont. Council has deferred discussion on a backyard hen pilot project for at least one year due to concerns over avian flu. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)
“I still think it’s a dumb idea,” said Coun. Gary Clarke, who has been against the idea during the entire discussion.
St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston said the city isn’t closing the coop on a potential project, he just said it won’t happen right now.
“Many communities since we last discussed it [backyard hens] have stopped the practice,” said Preston. “I believe the City of Toronto just removed it completely based on avian flu. We thought we would take caution the same way. Let's delay it for a year while we do a little more research on avian flu, and come back and talk about chickens in a year.”
Poultry veterinarian Mike Petrik believes they made the right choice.
“While we're in flux while we're trying to control this disease and trying to get a handle on it, I don't think it's a bad idea to take a step back and take a pause,” he said.
St. Thomas, Ont. Council has deferred discussion on a backyard hen pilot project for at least one year due to concerns over avian flu. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)Petrik said there have been over 60 million birds put down in North America because of this disease, and over half the cases have been identified in backyard chickens.
“It's extremely contagious,” he added. “The virus is actually adapted to waterfowl, so if a turkey or a chicken gets access to either dust, dander, feathers or droppings from an infected duck, she'll pass that virus on which will devastate the poultry.”
Vaughan calls the decision “a let down.”
“They are just kicking the can down the road,” said Vaughan. “Our five kids have now been like a part of this and the process and learning about how to go to city hall about all of these things and how to make change. It took one person [Jim McCoomb, manager of planning services] to shut down the change that could have been positive for the entire city.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Trudeau promises $1B in loans for child-care providers to expand care centres
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Fallen crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for a massive fraud that unravelled with the collapse of FTX, once one of the world's most popular platforms for exchanging digital currency.
A dog and a bird formed an unlikely friendship. Their separation has infuriated followers
Peggy is a stout and muscular Staffordshire bull terrier, and Molly is a magpie, an Australian bird best known for swooping on humans during breeding season, not for befriending dogs. But in an emotional video posted online, Peggy’s owners announced that the animals had been separated.