Majority of Cape council members voice support for chicken measure

Chickens could be kept throughout the city of Cape Girardeau under a proposal that drew support Monday from the majority of Cape Girardeau City Council members.

Five of the six council members in attendance said they want to vote on the measure at the next council meeting.

Ward 6 Councilman Wayne Bowen said allowing chickens to be kept in the city could pose a health risk to people.

Ward 1 Councilman Joe Uzoaru was not in attendance.

The measure would allow up to six hens to be kept on any property in city limits, including residential, commercial and industrial zones.

But city staff envision chickens most likely would be kept on residential properties.

Under the drafted ordinance, hen houses and chicken pens must be at least 10 feet from the property line and at least 25 feet from any adjacent residence, church, school or business.

Resident Andrew Bard submitted a petition to the council Dec. 5 asking the city to allow him and other residents to keep up to six hens on their properties.

Bard circulated the petition after he was cited by the city for keeping chickens in his yard on Bellevue Street. To comply with city law, Bard was forced to relocate his three chickens to a friend's Oak Ridge farm in November.

Cape Girardeau city law bans keeping chickens within the city except in agricultural zones.

The new measure is patterned after a law in Columbia, Missouri, but with some changes.

Cape Girardeau's measure would make it unlawful to raise chickens for slaughter.

Under the proposal, chickens would have to be kept in an enclosure or fenced area at all times. Chickens would have to be secured in a hen house or movable chicken coop at night, according to the proposed ordinance.

Deputy city manager Molly Hood said Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center officials have indicated they are "generally supportive" of allowing chickens to be kept within the city limits.

But Bowen said he remains concerned about the possible risk posed by avian flu or salmonella.

Bard told the council his research has shown few people who come in contact with live chickens are at risk of salmonella poisoning.

Bard said many communities allow people to keep a limited number of chickens in their yards. Those cities have not experienced health problems, he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.