By Brian Schultz
No, you can’t raise chickens in the city of Winnipeg.
A long battle for one Winnipeg man to raise chickens in his backyard came to an end Tuesday as city council’s property and development committee voted to not conduct a feasibility study on the issue.
Resident Darby Jones has been fighting to provide his own homegrown eggs to his family by setting up a chicken pen in his St. Boniface backyard, but despite what you can do in Vancouver, Victoria and Niagara Falls, Winnipeg won’t allow it.
“There was talk about maybe allowing them [chickens] in larger yards (five acre or more), or an urban farm, but it was all just talk,” Jones said in an e-mail shortly after the ruling.
“What I’m hoping, is that somebody new will carry the torch and get on one of their community committee’s agendas,” Jones added.
A city committee discussed the issue again in June, but no firm decision was made at that time.
But, it’s not all bad news for Jones. He and his family are off to the Winnipeg Folk Festival, where they’ll be spending the next week taking in live performances. “… Look forward to seeing the news coverage when we return,” he said. Well, here it is!
