Residents Raising Chickens in Flint, Detroit Coming Under Attack

People who are keeping chickens in Flint and Detroit are facing efforts from local governments to get rid of them.

NBC 25 says that some are keeping the chickens as a way to teach their children where food comes from. Others are in response to the growing interest in urban agriculture. Either way, some cities say it’s a zoning issue and the state is planning to develop guidelines for communities to try and avoid conflicts between neighbors.

Emergency Manager Darnell Earley released a statement on Monday afternoon saying the city's blight enforcement was contacted two weeks ago by a resident making a claim of another raising chickens in their yard. The blight enforcement coordinator witnessed the chickens roaming freely in the back yard in what were apparently unsanitary conditions. After confirmation of the citizen complaint, a citation was issued to the offending resident who now has 30 days to relocate the animals.

Earley added that "along with being against city ordinance, harboring chickens in unsanitary conditions is a health issue, as well as a quality of life issue." He said "as the ordinance banning the practice of raising chickens remains in effect and has not changed, it remains the legal guideline which the city will follow until it has changed."