Last week one of our members were forced to remove their three beloved chickens from their backyard because Maribyrnong Council deems that chooks be kept 15m (!!!) from ANY dwelling.
It’s the second time in two months that Council have evicted chickens, with reported 40 chook evictions enforced over the past 12 months. The story has been gaining much media attention including a cover story in the Star, as well as runs in the Maribyrnong Leader.
We have started a petition and will be holding a public meeting to get these laws changed. If you are a fellow chook lover, please join our campaign.
SIGN THE PETITION: http://chn.ge/YUM8mN
PUBLIC MEETING: Thu 4 April 7:30pm-9:30pm @ West Footscray Neighbourhood House. For more details contact Angela achiew@me.com 0488 54 9922
Maribyrnong Council currently outlaw keeping chickens in most of its residents’ backyards.
Whilst it is legal to keep up to 10 poultry unregistered, General Purposes Local Laws 52.3 state that a chook house and yard must be “15 metres from any dwelling”, as well as “18 metres from any road to which the land has a frontage, three (3) metres from any other road, one and one-half (1.5) metres from the boundary of any adjoining land in separate ownership or occupation.” This essentially prohibits most City of Maribyrnong residents!
We believe Council’s laws to be incredibly impractical and in desperate need of a change to be more inline with other local Councils as well as Council’s own Food Security Policy.
We want a policy that is supportive of sustainable living and good animal husbandry, not arbitrary measurements.
HELP US CHANGE THESE LAWS! Sign our petition and spread the word!