UPDATE: Hi, I have actually talked with Mr. Seskey in person today.  I want to apologize to him for calling him out. He is just a guy trying to do the nasty job of being the bad guy and enforcing the borough ordinances.  He said he is still waiting on the board to do whatever they will do with the ordinance about having chickens etc..... He is saying that they are thinking of making it that you have to have 10 acres to have chickens. YOU DO NOT NEED  ACRES!!!  The city of Pittsburgh allows at the minimum 3 chickens. no roosters.(that's fine. I honestly do not have a problem with not having a rooster. You do not need a rooster in order for the hens to lay eggs. Only thing you need a rooster for is to make babies.) There are also boroughs all over changing their ordinances on chickens to allow at least hens because their eggs are a food source for families. It is truly cost effective and cheaper to keep chickens and use their eggs than it is to go to the grocery store and buy eggs. Have you all seen egg prices? Almost $4-$5 a DOZEN!!!!  I dont know about a lot of the board members but my family cannot afford that for eggs. having to pay that for Milk is bad enough. 

So many of you have signed this petition and left messages and I am so very grateful to you all for your support. I am going to be sending a letter to whoever I have to along with this petition to fight for my flock! 

 Jefferson Hills Pa is claiming we are against the ordinance with having our pigs, chickens and ducks. We are not. We have read and re-read and have not found any wording saying we are prohibitited from having them.  He claims that our neighbors have complained. Yet when we talk to them, there is no complaining. They enjoy our animals. Noise complaint he says.  Our animals are no louder than the wild animals/birds in the area.  They are never loose, or wildly running thru the streets or neighborhood causing trouble. They are safely secured on our property.  We have lived here for 15yrs and have had chickens and ducks for 12 of those years. Not one complaint. The animals are well taken care of.  When I asked Mr. Seskey to show me the exact ordinance saying we are prohibited, he only showed me a definition of a farm.  My animals are NOT FOOD. They are beloved PETS. The pigs are indoor/outdoor pigs. They are litter trained, doggy door trained, and the chickens eggs provide food for my family. My pigs and other animals help greatly with my depression and anxiety.  Not sure how I would cope without them. My children love them all so dearly. They would be heart broken if we had to rehome them.  Especially my 10 year old who now wants to be a veteranarian when she grows up due to being taught what it is like to love and care for animals and how rewarding it is. 

The animals themselves could possibly die of depression due to being forced to leave what they know to be there safe home. Pigs do not do well with change at all. They may not eat,drink, graze, or move. Which could literally cause so much medically to go wrong with them it could kill them.  Who wants that? 

Please help me keep my babies by signing and letting them know my pigs and flock are not food. They are causing absolutely NO HARM at all in the borough/community.  My pigs are not farm hogs. They are domesticated house pets. 

Thank you all so much from the bottom of my heart. ❤

April Smith