How to Research Your Local Chicken Keeping Laws: Where to Begin

[Oblio13]

I wonder what George Washington, Ben Franklin and John Adams would think if they knew that we have long, confusing discussions trying to figure out if chickens are legal to own or not.

 

[SewingDiva]

Quote:
Ah – are you searching on-line? That may be why you’re not getting complete information. Internet search engines are not precise enough for what you need to find out.

You might want to look at the official record of the regulation, the one on paper. Using the internet as the sole source for legal researches is not really a good idea because only the official record will give you the entire picture.

Someone on another thread just posted that her local library has an offical and complete copy of her town's regulations. That's probably frustrating to hear, I know, but many small municipalities just don’t have the resources to put every regulation and bylaw on line.

~Phyllis

 

[First To Hatch]

The whole ordinance is online at my town website though.

 

[First To Hatch]

Quote:
Well on my website it says town code I click on that and type in whatever im looking for I'm pretty sure its the whole thing.

 

[SewingDiva]

Quote:
Definitely trust your instincts then. If you don't feel you have all of the information then you probabley don't. There's nothing wrong with being extra sure and checking the paper version of the code, but then again, if you feel confident you've made a duly dligent effort, then that's good too. Only you can judge your comfort level.

I can't give you legal advice, but the fact that an ordnance is silent on your issue is not nessarily a bad thing, because you can't violate a regulation that doesn't exist.

~Phyllis

 

[Rhett&SarahsMom]

Quote:
Same here. We live in a mid sized city.

 

[First To Hatch]

Called animal control he told me he doesnt think there is an ordinance against it but hes not sure and told me to call the zoning officer so I did and I asked her she said ''ummmmm..............no'' she sounded so sure of herself I find it hard to believe considering I can't even find a law against it. So I'm not sure what next step should I take now?

 

[SewingDiva]

Quote:
It's possible that you've taken all the steps you can, and you have a situation where there is just no regulation that applies to you. That may not be a bad thing.

I hope I don't sound flippant or snarky and I apologize if I do, but it's always really surprising how to me often a law is silent on something. And that's because laws are written in retrospect and in hindsight.

Remember - it's hard for a person to violate a ordnance that doesn't exist. So if you keep chickens, and they come after you, what can come after you with? Not much.

~Phyllis

 

[First To Hatch]

Yea I'm having a lawyer find out if their is anything against it
.