West Vancouver may perform a coop d'etat on its chicken bylaws next year if an 11-year-old resident has her way.
Grade 6 Gleneagles elementary student Kaylee Whittaker was one of several fowl friends calling for council to reverse its ban on backyard chickens Nov. 24.
"I have lived in Horseshoe Bay all my life. As long as I can remember, I've wanted to raise backyard chickens," she said. "I hope that you can make my dream a reality."
Despite previously allowing chickens "since the beginning of time," the municipality banished the birds in 2008 amid concerns from the North Shore Black Bear Network that coops could bring bears to backyards, noted Coun. Nora Gambioli.
"They have actually reversed that position. They don't believe anymore that bears are attracted to chicken coops," Gambioli said.
Local egg production is important to meeting the goals of the North Shore Food Charter, she added.
Whittaker praised the City of North Vancouver for allowing chickens to come home to roost there in 2012.
"Why can't we just change the bylaw back?" she asked. "People in North Van can, why can't we?" City residents in singleunit residential zones can keep as many as eight hens but no roosters. Slaughtering chickens is not allowed.
"I know a lot of people in the community want to have chickens," Whittaker
said. "Even though West Vancouver doesn't have a lot of farmland, people do have backyards, and people's backyards are usually big enough to have a chicken coop."
Grooming chickens and cleaning a coop is a great way for children to learn responsibility, according to Whittaker. A well-made coop can ward off predators including rats, raccoons, bears and foxes, she said.
Whittaker received strong support from fellow "hen hugger" Coun. Bill Soprovich.
"There is nothing finer than five or six free-range chickens walking around your backyard," he said, punctuating his statement with a cluck.
Council is tentatively slated to examine their chicken bylaws by Sept. 30 next year according to chief administrative officer Nina Leemhuis.
Other children who spoke at the meeting crowed at the idea of backyard chickens, citing the health of the birds, the reduction in fossil fuels being burned due to fewer deliveries and trips to the store, and the necessity of eggs in the event of a food shortage.
