Chickens, no more than four, are now allowed in some Toronto backyards.
Toronto Cityy Councillors, following two days of debated, voted 23 to 14 in favour of a pilot project to take place in four wards of the city.
“What the flock is going on at city hall?”
The two councillors who proposed lifting the ban against backyard chickens, Joe Mihevc and Justin Di Ciano, live in two of the pilot areas and they say they’ll be getting chickens soon .
“To have a few pets in your backyard that also have the benefit of producing eggs, there’s nothing wrong with it from a public health perspective, from a nuisance perspective,” Mihevc told reporters.
“They are as clean as cats and dogs.”
Di Ciano said his father has chickens in his backyard and he accused opposing councillors of “fear mongering,” and practising Donald Trump-like politics of fear.
Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti asked, “What the flock is going on at city hall?” and then stepped out on the vote on the pilot project.
The stipulations are that people can have no more than four chickens, and no roosters will be allowed as their early morning crowing could be a disturbance.
Only those residents with backyards are eligible; those in condominium dwellings will not be allowed to keep chickens.
We’ll speak to a councillor from one of the wards involved in the pilot project to hear how it may unfold in that neighbourhood.
Mayor John Tory voted in support of the backyard chickens.
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