Cluck Cluck or Quack Quack? Backyard Chicken Farming in Suburban Eden Prairie: A Bad Idea

Most of us think ducks are adorable, others think they are a safety hazard, or both. But, chickens in our neighbor's backyards? Not adorable and definitely a hazard.  Maybe we should learn from the country's largest animal sanctuary before we venture into a local discussion.

The following letter "Backyard chicken ban gains support" was submitted to the Press Feb 05, 2010 by the Eastern Shore Sanctuary and Education Center. As the country’s largest coalition of animal sanctuaries involved in the direct care of unwanted chickens, we are writing to you with our recommendations regarding the recent trend in backyard chicken-keeping.

As the popularity of raising backyard flocks has grown, our shelters have become inundated with calls to take in unwanted chickens. In addition, we understand many communities are now besieged with requests to legally regulate the keeping of backyard flocks.

Recognizing the importance of this issue, we have crafted the accompanying Position Statement.

Backyard chicken-keeping by amateurs raises many serious concerns regarding both the welfare of the birds and the community. Moreover, it raises serious concerns about ordinance enforcement issues and the burden placed on already overwhelmed local shelters when birds are abandoned, seized or surrendered.   Read More...

Voting to Override the Governor's Veto

Representative Maria Ruud (DFL) District: 42A: "I voted to override the Governor's veto.  I believe it is the right thing to do.  It is a temporary fix that provides health care to more people for lower cost than the Governor's. It is not perfect but I believe the reasons we heard today not  to vote to override ( it didn't go to conference committee and we still have to balance a budget etc,) were not convincing.  We can still work on finding a better way to provide this care, our work to balance the budget has just begun - that doesn't change.  What does change is if we fail to override, it begins the process of auto-enrolling this population into MN Care - a program that all agree is not a good fit and will cause thousands of working Minnesotans to lose their health care. We will continue to work to find a solution.  I believe the people of MN have an idea that our health care system is broken, but they are not clear on the specifics of a solution other than turning our backs on the poor and vulnerable, which is wrong.  They expect - and want - us to figure it out."

Note: House Member Jenifer Loon was also asked to give a response she has not done so by the 3-3-10.

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