Because Chickens are Highly Offensive Monsters of Epic Destruction, I Suppose.

When we left the city of Vancouver and moved here, to a tiny rural community on an island, one of the first things I asked at the village office was if I could keep a chicken or two in our yard. I received a prompt, enthusiastic "NO". Residences within village boundaries are not zoned for the husbandry of farm animals, so all hopes of raising sheep, horses, dairy cattle and fowl on my lot were RIGHT OUT. Even if it was only a pair of cute bantams and a rooster. The Powers That Be have spoken, and they proclaimed, "No chickens for you!"

It now seems that the residents of Vancouver are one step closer to urban farming, and soon, it will be perfectly legal for Vancouver homeowners to keep chickens in their backyards.

The world is a bizarre place.

RECAP: if I move back to the city, I could raise chickens and have fresh eggs, but if I continue to live here, surrounded by forests, I will be slapped with a fine if I purchase a single hen. In fact, as the bylaw stands right now, people in the City of Vancouver can keep 12 exotic birds -- they are perfectly within their legal rights to own a dozen ostriches.

How very, very odd.