I'm being forced to "get rid" of my chickens after over two years with them due to a falling out with a neighbor who has pushed zoning to enforce the rule of a coop being 50 feet from anothers property line. My property is only 50 x 150. I wrote a letter to the MD Gazette and they are going to run it. I would like to share it with you all and get your feedback on anything you think I should make a point of and invite you to either contact them in support of my pight, or to comment when it's published...whatever you'd like to say or do...The letter is as follows...
I am writing to bring attention to an issue that I know my family is not alone in. For over two years we have kept chickens in our back yard. Five laying hens that we bought from the AAC 8th Avenue co-op at aproximately three days old. We do not keep a rooster, in order to eliminate noise issues and to keep from increasing our flock size. My family has raised these hens without incident,kept them through two extreme winters, shared our eggs freely,and composted droppings to enrich our organic garden soil. They've educated children, brough whimsey and laughter when they've pecked the cat or chased the dog, and fed our friends and family. Now due to a personal dispute with a neighbor, zoning says that although they are quiet, secured, and unintrusive to others lives,liberties, or pursuits of happiness, we have until Oct. 27th to "get rid" of them. This code is in need of change. Citizens are more concerned about nutrition, green ideals, natural resources and providing for their own families in hard times, without the use of food stamps. This started as a personal vendetta against our family, but we hope it will end with ammended codes to allow for relief of infringement upon the civil liberties of our tax paying citizens. Ours is not the only family trying live a greener lifestyle in this area, attempting to teach our children about a natural world in the midst of shootings and roberies. Where is our right to live the lifestyle we choose? One that has no negative effect on others and benefits our family and the environment around us. Even Baltimore City has changed it's ideas about back yard chickens! When we were initially stationed here 11 years ago, Anne Arundel County was touted as an agricultural area. There are many families with backyard chickens in the area, are they safe only until a neighbor becomes miffed by some mundane issue and then off with their heads? This is a basic infringement of our civil liberties, not just chicken $%*!
I hope I don't come across like a freak. What do ya'll think?
I am writing to bring attention to an issue that I know my family is not alone in. For over two years we have kept chickens in our back yard. Five laying hens that we bought from the AAC 8th Avenue co-op at aproximately three days old. We do not keep a rooster, in order to eliminate noise issues and to keep from increasing our flock size. My family has raised these hens without incident,kept them through two extreme winters, shared our eggs freely,and composted droppings to enrich our organic garden soil. They've educated children, brough whimsey and laughter when they've pecked the cat or chased the dog, and fed our friends and family. Now due to a personal dispute with a neighbor, zoning says that although they are quiet, secured, and unintrusive to others lives,liberties, or pursuits of happiness, we have until Oct. 27th to "get rid" of them. This code is in need of change. Citizens are more concerned about nutrition, green ideals, natural resources and providing for their own families in hard times, without the use of food stamps. This started as a personal vendetta against our family, but we hope it will end with ammended codes to allow for relief of infringement upon the civil liberties of our tax paying citizens. Ours is not the only family trying live a greener lifestyle in this area, attempting to teach our children about a natural world in the midst of shootings and roberies. Where is our right to live the lifestyle we choose? One that has no negative effect on others and benefits our family and the environment around us. Even Baltimore City has changed it's ideas about back yard chickens! When we were initially stationed here 11 years ago, Anne Arundel County was touted as an agricultural area. There are many families with backyard chickens in the area, are they safe only until a neighbor becomes miffed by some mundane issue and then off with their heads? This is a basic infringement of our civil liberties, not just chicken $%*!
I hope I don't come across like a freak. What do ya'll think?
