$840 fine for 4 chickens in Vacaville CA

[hwkeye1911]

Sorry to be asking for help with my first post, but is there anyone else here from Vacaville who can help shed some light onto why they are saying we can't keep our girls? We called zoning 3 years ago and they said it was fine, they even sell them in town, but apparently the local animal enforcement officer has a different interpretation then they do and handed us a court summons with a fine attached. I hope that the court sides with us since getting rid of our chickens is bad enough let alone the huge fine on top of that. Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I'd say your animal control officer is misinformed. Unless there is a new amendment to your city code or county code chickens are allowed. The only restricting factor was 5 roosters and you can't sell poultry privately. Were you cited for animals at large or just having chickens?

 

[hwkeye1911]

I was actually cited for four counts of "possession of animal prohibited on less then 1 acre". It took him two days to come up with this and when I showed him the city code stating otherwise he became agitated and said he didn't care and would just let the court figure it out. Not exactly what I think our courts should be wasting their time on, or what I should be taking a day off of work for. The chickens were all in an enclosed coop in our backyard and have never been allowed to be "at large" by definition.

 

[Cavry]

Maybe he's already found all the exotics, pit-bulls, reptiles, and ill-behaved children?

 

[EweSheep]

 

[suntex01]

What you should do, is call up the head of the department and ask to speak about the situation.
If the ordinance is on your side, there's no reason for you to have to go to court to settle this.

Usually, speaking to the bosses gets you a long way.

 

[ECBW]

Second the motion.

But you still have to go through the hassle unnecessarily just because some guy wanted to take out his frustration on you.

 

[JeffLink]

So whatever happened when you went to court...I too have chickens here in Vacaville.

 

[Mahonri]

I read things like this and it just MAKES ME ANGRY. I need to go to bed.

 

[UnclePeep]

Im willing to bet that one of your neighbors called and complained. Thats most likely why the officer came by to begin with. Unfortunately you're probably gonna have to go and defend yourself in court. This guy's "boss" will most likely defend his actions regardless if he's in the wrong or not.