My name is Diana and I’m here to petition that hens, female chickens, should be allowed as domestic pets in Coral Springs. Hens are clean, quiet and wonderful animals to have as pets; they also come with a lot of benefits. These animals are very small and can be kept in the backyard or in a chicken coop.

According to Broward County Ordinance chickens are allowed as pets. With this knowledge in mind I got myself three baby hens, only to find out that in Corals Springs the rules change and chickens are not allowed as pets. I was informed that it is a $50 fine per chicken per day kept. This is an outrageous amount of money to be fined for having such a beautiful safe and loving pet.

The current city codes states, " Livestock such as horses, mules, goats, sheep, hogs, pigs, chickens, emus, ducks, geese, or any other hoofed or grazing animal or fowl shall not be permitted as pets.. ." While that is understandable for animals such as goats, mules, and some others for the sake of the safety and cleanness of our city, and to prevent farming in city limits; chickens should not be under this code.

These animals are very safe, safer than your average dog. They cannot pass on rabies since they are not warm-blooded mammals. They cannot bite or scratch any other human or animal since they only have a beak with no teeth and only two feet that they use for walking, thus cannot use them like a cat’s frontal legs. They’re not aggressive at all. Since they are females, they don’t make any noises or bark that can disturb someone’s peace unlike their male chicken, a rooster. The noise they do make is equivalent to an average bird flying in the sky. These pets are even safer than a bunny, whose bite is very painful.

I do understand that chickens are considered livestock but I am not here to eat my pets. I’m a vegetarian and believe animals should be free as they would in their natural habitat. Any farm will kill these precious babies for food. Just imagine giving your dog away to a place you know it will be killed.. that is just not right.

So please, I urge you to sign this petition to change the Coral Springs city code and allow domesticated hens as pets, as they are allowed in other cities in the Broward County. Help me save these three little precious lives.