One particularly warm evening last summer, I walked into my backyard to relax and enjoy some fresh air. Instead, I was greeted by the loud shriek of a chicken. We had an uninvited guest in our vegetable garden. Unfortunately, such chicken invasions are a common occurrence in many areas of Stockton, California. Throughout the United States, municipalities small and large are debating whether or not they should enact residential livestock ordinances, specifically in regards to poultry. Considering that they are often a public nuisance and pose a health risk, local officials should consider restricting the private ownership of chickens in heavily populated urban areas.
While there are many reasons a person may wish to raise their own chickens, not everyone in their neighborhood may support the idea. Chickens frequently make noises, which may disturb those with sensitive hearing. Also, negligent practices can lead to odor problems. This is especially a concern to those in areas of warmer climates, such as the Central Valley where temperatures often reach over 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. Ordinances are already in effect in most cities for dogs and other pets. Whether they require owners to obtain licenses or serve to restrict the general noise level in an area, these laws are usually in place for the protection of both the animals and the humans that live among them. It seems only fair that if chickens are considered acceptable pets in an area, current laws should be amended to include them or new, similar protections should be put in place.
Recent concerns regarding the risks of Avian flu and other exotic diseases prompted some local poultry farmers to adopt strict biosecurity protocols in order to keep their birds safe. ...
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6. MacDonald, G. Jeffrey. "Chickens come home to roost in backyards around the USA." USA Today.
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Reducing the risk of salmonellosis from these farms would include food safety practices such as: washing eggs and hands thoroughly, making sure that the farm is kept in good condition, feeding the chickens good food, and using fresh water
The Marion County Board of Commissioners have been working with community leaders and the Marion County Animal Services department to develop a plan to help eliminate the problems. The local animal control ordinances have been evaluated and revised in hopes of preventing future problems before they develop. The first step was to create an annual “dangerous canine breed” registration fee of $500 for local dog owners that would discourage ownership of dangerous breeds by county residents. Marion County Commissioner Jim Payton stated that, “there is no reason for the public to be put at risk by these animals. We need to make it as stringent as we possibly can to protect the public." (Thompson, “County drops ‘1 free kill’”).
If you’re a pit bull owner in Sioux City, Iowa, you are faced with certain ordinances that make it more difficult to own and keep your dog. This is Sioux City’s attempt to keep its citizens’ safe and prevent the abuse and harm of the pitbull. The city is trying to promote safety and animal advocacy. This ordinance is not effective because it punishes the animal and not the owner; it also does not take into account the animals individual personality. Legislators should create laws that consider all dogs based on their individual behavior and hold owner accountable for their animals.
Chickens are one of the top most tortured animals in factory farms. Farmers get the most money for chickens that are heavier and have enlarged thighs and breasts. Like most factory farmed animals, broiler chickens are raised in overcrowded cages their entire life, and become very aggressive. Because of this aggressiveness the employees of the farms cut of their beaks and toes without any type of painkiller or an anesthetic just to keep them from fighting. After being “debeaked” some chickens are then not able to eat and starve. Layer chickens lay 90-95% of the eggs sold in the U.S. (2013b) The torture starts the day they are born. Chicks are placed on a belt, where an employee than picks up each chick to see if it is a male or female. Newborn male chicks are thrown into trash bags, ground up alive, crushed, and killed many other inhumane ways.
However due to globalization, import and export viruses is more easily transmitted. Over the past century the global community especially Asian has been affected with new strains of the influenza virus. The changes in the virus can occur in two ways “antigenic drift” which are gradual changes in the virus over time. This change produces new strains that the antibody may not recognize. “Antigenic shift” On the other is a sudden change in the influenza virus which ‘’ results in a new influenza A subtype or a virus with a hemagglutinin or a hemagglutinin and neuraminidase combination that has emerged from an animal population,” as seen with H5N1 virus. This change leaves people defenseless against this new virus. (CDC, 2013) Currently there is no vaccine to combat all strains therefore “Planning and preparedness for implementing mitigation strategies during a pandemic requires participation by all levels o...
Broiler chickens, luckily for them, only live up to 7 weeks old until they are big enough to be slaughtered. Their life starts out in incubator trays with hundreds and thousands of other chicks without enough head room to stand up, and not enough room to take 2 tiny steps. So for the first week of their lives it goes from cramp trays, to cramp boxes, to getting dumped onto the filthy floors of t...
chickens will suffer for minutes until they finally meet death. All because the farmers cannot be
"Eggs: From Hen to Home." From Hen to Home. Ed. Alberta Egg Farmers. Egg Farmers of Alberta, 1 Jan.
Ryan, Jeffrey R., and Jan F. Glarum. Biosecurity & Bioterrorism: Containing and Preventing Biological Threats. Oxford: Elsevier Inc., 2008.
Deer overpopulation leads to an abundance of complications. Deer damage the small gardens and lawns of many homeowners and for those living inside the city limits the only feasible response is spraying chemical deterrents, a painstaking process that decreases in
You also aren’t allowed to hunt whales in Kansas. That law may sound like it makes sense, right? But, Kansas is slapped in the middle of the U.S. And there are no oceans in the middle of the U.S. Yeah, it’s weird. You also aren’t allowed to use mules to hunt ducks. Really!? According to idiotlaws.com, “No dead animals or garbage may be hauled across Kansas Avenue.” Also, it is against the law to scream,
Hirsch, Veronica. "Legal Protections of the Domestic Chicken in the United States and Europe." . N.p., 1 Jan. 2003. Web. 13 May 2014. .
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) helps keep the health of food in place and checks for any abnormalities in our foods (“Safety Inspections.”). Any food that is processed outside of the United States is sent to a certain port through which the USDA can inspect and clear these imports to make sure they are safe for consumer consumption. The Agricultural Quarantine Inspection (AQI) program is a program within the USDA that helps find and dispose of any inflected plants or animals (“Agriculture Quarantine Inspection.”). The AQI will analyze the risk this disease and possibly find a way to treat it. The trucks or aircraft used in the transportation of the infected product are also inspected to stop the spread of the disease. Governmental programs and services of this
(39) World Bank. Projects - Haiti: AVIAN INFLUENZA CONTROL AND HUMAN INFLUENZA EMERGENCY PREPARDNESS AND CONTROL. 2010; Available at: http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=64283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=40941&menuPK=228424&Projectid=P111667. Accessed 6/27/2010, 2010.
I have always been drawn to chickens since I was a little girl. It was only in my thirty’s that I first came in to contact with chickens on a farm. You would think that a city girl like me would be afraid, nope, I went right in to feed and sat in chicken poop. No one told me I shouldn’t sit in the coop and feed them, but I was fine with it, they calm me. Each year I keep telling myself I will move when I can have my chickens. I will cover the difference between meat and egg layers. I will discuss the different ways to home them, and keep them safe. Why should people keep chickens at all? In this research paper I will go over the information that I have read and how I feel personally about raising and keeping chickens in your back yard.