Chickens and goats subject of petition to Cornwall, P.E.I.

An online petition is circulating calling on the town of Cornwall, P.E.I. to allow backyard hens and miniature goats on residential properties.

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Cornwall resident Rosalyn Abbott said she used to have backyard hens when she lived in Summerside.

When she moved to the Ferry Road in Cornwall about 16 months ago she asked to be able to keep a small flock of about six egg-laying hens and some female miniature goats, but in the fall of 2015 Abbott saidtown council rejected her application in a five-to-one vote.

The lifestyle that we want to pursue is something that we aren't able to where we live currently. Rosalynn Abbott

Abbott's request would amount to an agricultural use for a property located in a residential zone, town officials said.

Council said it wasn't prepared to allow Abbott's property to be rezoned as agricultural or change the rules for permitted uses for a residential zone.

"I was really disappointed. It is something that we really want and we love our home in Cornwall," said Abbott.

"It really means that the lifestyle that we want to pursue is something that we aren't able to where we live currently."

Abbott hopes her online petition will show many residents are behind the idea, and council will be more comfortable with revisiting its decision.

She points out in the petition that Cornwall's official town plan of 2014 says a blend of urban and rural values is intrinsic to the town's identity.

"We don't want to move out of Cornwall. We really just moved there."

Food security behind mini-farm idea

Abbott says so far response has been encouraging: the petition went online Sunday night and as of Monday afternoon more than 120signatures werecollected.

The petition states "Growing vegetables, gathering eggs from backyard hens, and producing milk from goats that are simultaneously personable family pets allows families to save money, choose more sustainable food options, educate their children, provide healthier meals and improve their overall physical and mental health."

"I think that it is a great idea," supporter Cynthia Arsenault of Kensington stated on the petition. "We should all be able to raise our own food on a small scale if we want to."

"I support families addressing food insecurity by creative means such as flocks of laying hens and growing food to supplement family nutritional requirements," commented Ryan Webster of North Wiltshire.

Christa Schurman of Summerside said simply, "Chickens are fantastic."