Notice Board

The Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA) presents a session with Ketli Baird as she examines the issue of urban agriculture and specifically backyard hens.

Should Backyard Hens be Allowed within Lethbridge City Limits?

Date:                    Thursday, February 7, 2019
Time:                    Doors open 11:30 a.m., Presentation 12 p.m., buffet lunch 12:30 p.m., Q&A 1 – 1:30 p.m.
Location:              Royal Canadian Legion (north door) 324 Mayor Magrath Dr. S. Lethbridge
Cost:                    $14 buffet lunch with dessert/coffee/tea/juice or $2 coffee/tea/juice. RSVP not required

On September 17, 2018, Lethbridge City Council was asked to consider a one-year pilot project for the keeping of up to four egg-laying hens on urban properties with suitable yard space. Council voted to investigate further and to have public consultations, with a decision to follow in late March 2019.

Bylaw 3383 prohibits the raising of poultry within the City of Lethbridge and it has not been amended since 1983. Is the bylaw out of date? Would allowing for the adaptation of proper urban agricultural practices and food sustainability be appropriate? Other cities in Alberta have already adopted successful pilot programs and bylaws to allow for the keeping of backyard hens in urban settings.

Should Lethbridge join cities such as Red Deer, Edmonton, Guelph and Victoria to allow the keeping of backyard hens in support of urban agriculture and food sustainability? Arguably, it would complement the strategic plan the city has produced to establish a pilot program that allow interested residents in the City of Lethbridge to keep hens. The speaker will elaborate and offer examples of many successful endeavours of limited production of eggs, veggies and fruit within cities throughout Canada and indeed the world.

Speaker:              Kelti Baird

Kelti is a 2012 graduate of the University of Lethbridge with a Bachelor in History, her particular focus was architectural history specializing in settlement architecture in Western Canada. She is the founding co-owner of Theoretically Brewing Company, here in the city, as well as an environmental enthusiast.

Kelti’s short time working for Environment Lethbridge, along with interactions with the Lethbridge Sustainable Living Association and Homestead Show & Market in Fort MacLeod, sprouted an interest in urban agriculture and environmentalism. In September 2018, Kelti introduced a request to city council for an Urban Hen Pilot Project, and is pursuing a change to Bylaw 3383 to allow the same.

Moderator:         Jennifer Tarnowsky

For more information on the Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs, visit the SACPA website.