Although we live in deep Southern Illinois, a rural area, we have the amenities of larger cities. We have shopping malls, restaurants, hospitals, cultural venues, community colleges, and a university. Marion and Carbondale, the largest communities, have populations of about 17,000 and 30,000 respectively, and Southern Illinois University in Carbondale has an additional student population of 15,000+.
We may not be “city folks,” but we do not consider ourselves “hicks.” An item under consideration by the Carbondale Planning Commission, a division of the Carbondale City Council, may make some reconsider our “hick” status. The Planning Commission is currently engaged in a discuss
ion of major importance – whether Carbondale residents should be allowed to have chickens and goats as pets. At a meeting Wednesday night, the commission prop
osed allowing residents to have up to ten (10) chickens and three (3) miniature goats as pets. Roosters would not be allowed to avert the noise potential from their crowing. City Council members posed several questions to the commission members. One questioned how chickens could be leashed in accordan
ce with the city’s leash law. Another questioned the odor of goat excrement. A commission member responded that it “is drier and less smelly than that of dogs and cats. It resembles Milk Duds.” The council also said expecting the city’s animal control officer to determine ownership of stray chickens and the city to provide adequate housing for stray miniature goats is unrealistic and would strain the city’s resources. To compound the problem, there is no benchmark for comparison. Cities surveyed thus far have different rules. For example, Chicago has no limit on how many chickens residents may have, but an Arizona suburb limits the number to three chickens. Nothing was resolved, and the Planning Commission will research other cities’ regulations at its next meeting. It’s refreshing in this time of serious world problems that a chickens/goats debate is the local front page news.
We may not be “city folks,” but we do not consider ourselves “hicks.” An item under consideration by the Carbondale Planning Commission, a division of the Carbondale City Council, may make some reconsider our “hick” status. The Planning Commission is currently engaged in a discuss
ion of major importance – whether Carbondale residents should be allowed to have chickens and goats as pets. At a meeting Wednesday night, the commission prop
osed allowing residents to have up to ten (10) chickens and three (3) miniature goats as pets. Roosters would not be allowed to avert the noise potential from their crowing. City Council members posed several questions to the commission members. One questioned how chickens could be leashed in accordan
ce with the city’s leash law. Another questioned the odor of goat excrement. A commission member responded that it “is drier and less smelly than that of dogs and cats. It resembles Milk Duds.” The council also said expecting the city’s animal control officer to determine ownership of stray chickens and the city to provide adequate housing for stray miniature goats is unrealistic and would strain the city’s resources. To compound the problem, there is no benchmark for comparison. Cities surveyed thus far have different rules. For example, Chicago has no limit on how many chickens residents may have, but an Arizona suburb limits the number to three chickens. Nothing was resolved, and the Planning Commission will research other cities’ regulations at its next meeting. It’s refreshing in this time of serious world problems that a chickens/goats debate is the local front page news.
My boss has 3 chickens (he lives in the Central West End in St. Louis) and has even brought me fresh eggs!
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