A Lethbridge resident has to get rid of his chickens after city council denied an appeal to bylaw contraventions.
Gilles Leclair was ordered to get rid of the chickens he keeps in his backyard in October and requested council appeal the decision late last month. He told council he was aware it was against the law but he chose to have the chickens anyway.
“I also was aware the city is complaint driven and I was counting on not having any complaints because certainly my nearby neighbours didn’t have any complaints and when this one came through it was, more or less, a joke,” he said at the hearing on Nov. 28. “None of my neighbours even knew that I have chickens until I told them a full 12 months after obtaining them.”
BACKGROUND: Resident challenges enforcement of bylaw prohibiting backyard chickens
Council discussed the matter in a closed session on Dec. 12 and presented its decision to uphold enforcement of the bylaw. Leclair must remove his chickens before Jan. 15.
City administration is working on reviewing animal bylaws and investigating whether backyard chickens should be allowed and that work is expected to be completed mid to late 2024.