Winter Park Chicken Initiative: Sign the Petition

There is a project worth knowing about called the Winter Park Chicken Initiative (Facebook, Petition)  The mission: To follow in the footsteps of the over 500 other US cities and towns that have updated their local ordinances to allow chickens within city limits. Residents would be limited to 5 hens per household and subject to the same noise, restaurant and sanitation requirements as all Winter Park pet owners. 


According to the group, allowing chickens would (1) provide a source of no-cost, organic, cruelty-free eggs, (2) reduce the need for harmful pesticides and fertilizers, (3) benefit the environment and local food initiatives, (4) give residents the option to own a great new kind of pet. 


More from their website: Due to outdated laws and common misconceptions, it is currently illegal to own any number of chickens within the city of Winter Park, Florida. As the over 500 U.S. cities and towns (including San Francisco, California) that have legalized backyard chicken ownership in recent years have found, chickens are no more of a threat or nuisance to urban life than a dog or cat, and offer a benefit that legal pets do not: eggs - a healthy, sustainable food source. There are other benefits to having backyard chickens, such as a reduction in unwanted pests, decreasing the need for harmful pesticides. Additionally, chickens consume organic waste, recycling table scraps into a nutrient-rich manure that benefits soil quality and enhances plant growth. Finally, it is important that residents with concerns for the environment, their own health and the humane treatment of the animals from which they derive food, be able to legally access an alternative to mainstream poultry and egg sources.

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