Margy Stancill (defendant), Pat Foreman and her arm-candy hen, Oprah Henfrey (character witnesses), Spencer Stephen, Esq. and Dr. Lonnie Luther, expert witness.
Author and city chicken advocate Pat Foreman alerted us to a story breaking in our northern neighboring Montgomery County, which we’ve dubbed MoCo vs Chick Coop.
It seems that Montgomery County is taking Margy Stancill to court for owning about a dozen birds. Ironically, Maryland is home to some of the largest poultry farms in the country – and yet this small flock got Margy into trouble. The Stancills are pictured here in court, joined by Foreman and her “therapy hen” Ms. Oprah Henfrey.
At issue in the court case of Stancills vs Montgomery County is the definition of chickens as pets or livestock. The keeping of livestock is, understandably, heavily regulated – the law demands that livestock be setback 100 feet from other residences. (There are no such setbacks for pets.) And sure, that makes sense to keep cows from the yard outside your window. But should hens — when kept with care — be lumped in the same category?
We have a similar situation here in DC. Like in Maryland, there are no requirements for setbacks or written consent from neighbors for pets. But chicken advocate Caryn Ernst shared on this blog that “when the Animal Control Officer came to our door to remove our birds, he insisted they are considered “wild” birds and not domesticated, but I can’t think of a bird more commonly domesticated than chickens.”
So are chickens domestic animals? When taken care of, aren’t they just as quiet, clean, and safe as cats and dogs? And since that’s the case, shouldn’t we allow our neighbors this source of fresh, nutritious eggs? Last but not least, there’s the point made by Ms. Stancill’s son on the news: these chicks “just looked a lot cuter” than the other pets.
Scott Stancill and Oprah Henfrey - notice the sign in back! Thank You for Doing Great Service.
The Stancill case has been postponed until May 18th. To stay abreast of the situation (bawk baawwwk) check out the Chicken Whisper Backyard Poultry Talk Show, daily from noon to 1pm on BlogTalkRadio.com. And if you’d like to push DC’s City Council to start counting our eggs, sign our petition supporting the legalization of hens.
