Educating the general public

[DLMKA]

How do you do it? I've had a little bit of press coverage in the local papers on the chicken ordinance I've proposed for my community but I'm getting feedback from the Director of Planning that it's a polarizing issue with many people worried about noise and smell. How do you broadcast to a broad audience that really doesn't give a d@mn that a few hens in the backyard does not equate to the smell generated by a commercial chicken operation and that only roosters crow and hens make less noise than your friendly neighborhood cat and certainly less than the songbirds that so many people feed and attract? I've asked one of the column writers at the paper if he'd do another article but the response has been cool and not terribly excited. Not many people read letters to the editor so you don't get much of an audience there. Maybe TV news?

 

[spangledcornish]

many people have hosted educational meetings on the subject, being an organized group and being sensitive to the issues and concerns of other is a good strategy when in this type of debate. The WI Extension service has a publication on Poultry in Urban Areas. I posted this link in another tread. I was over looked, however when I helped write the short bulletin I tried to keep in mind is this is something that can be provided to new poultry people as well as city council members. It is very brief and has some good resources, so those who may be on the fence will be likely to at lest skim it over.

the publication can be downloaded for free at http://learningstore.uwex.edu/Assets/pdfs/A3908-03.pdf