We, the undersigned residents of Conshohocken Borough, do vehemently oppose the proposed Animal Control Ordinance Amendment, specifically Section 4, Part 3 KEEPING OF CHICKENS.

THE BENEFITS OF CHICKENS

The ability to keep backyard chickens provides many benefits to the residents of Conshohocken Borough and to the borough itself.

Backyard chickens produce fresh, organic eggs daily.

They eat insects that would otherwise be, at best, pesky, and at worst, disastrous to other garden crops or disease-carrying.

Their waste provides fertilizer for garden crops.

They provide socialization between neighbors that otherwise would not exist – this has been witnessed and is not just conjecture.

They are teachers: children enjoy visiting their neighbors’ chickens, and unknowingly learn about where food really comes from and how to care for animals properly.

Hens are quiet animals, thus there is no cause for noise concerns by allowing backyard chickens.

They make wonderful pets and will form bonds with their owners.

During a time when global warming, climate change, and environmental issues are on the minds of most individuals, it’s important to note that raising backyard chickens is one step towards more sustainable living.

Backyard chickens enjoy better living conditions than hens in egg factories, producing healthier eggs, which in turn produces healthier people. Raising chickens and collecting eggs reduces the demand for store-bought eggs, lessening the need for egg factories and the animal cruelty that exists there. Further, the borough benefits from household food scraps that are kept out of landfills which are instead given to the chickens. Chickens are able to biorecycle up to one hundred (100) pounds of vegetable matter and table waste per year.

WHY WE ARE OPPOSED

The allowance of keeping chickens only in single-family detached dwellings wholly discriminates against residents of Conshohocken Borough based on income. Individuals or families who cannot afford single-family detached homes in Conshohocken are excluded from the right to keep chickens.

The borough is attempting to control how its residents obtain their food, forcing lower-income families to purchase from grocery stores. During this pandemic, we’ve all experienced food shortages and bare shelves in the grocery stores. Backyard chickens have provided a relatively steady supply of eggs for those who are lucky enough to have them.

There is no basis to the maximum number of chickens (three) proposed by the ordinance. Chickens are flock animals and are happier in groups. To limit the number of allowed chickens to three almost guarantees unhappy, and therefore, unhealthy chickens.

The location of the chicken coops is, again, discriminatory against families and individuals who do not own large plots of land within the borough. To be a minimum of thirty (30) feet from any adjacent building would require the property’s backyard to be at least sixty (60) feet wide. How many properties in Conshohocken would meet this requirement? Very few, if any at all.

TO OUR BOROUGH REPRESENTATIVES

We, as your constituents, are demanding that you do not pass the proposed Animal Control Ordinance Amendment. We have outlined our reason for opposition above, as well as the benefits that keeping backyard chickens provides to both the residents of the borough and the borough itself.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned