Smartie the chicken stands on a couch in his family's Bluffton home.
Posted on 09/19/2012 6:54:43 AM PDT by JoeProBono
BLUFFTON, S.C., - A South Carolina woman said she will argue in court her family should be able to keep a chicken because it is a pet, not a farm animal banned by city ordinance.
Stephanie Stewart, 41, of Bluffton admitted she did not have permission from the city or from her homeowner's association when her family adopted Smartie the chicken, but she plans to argue in Bluffton Municipal Court that the foul is a family pet, not a banned livestock animal, The Hilton Head (S.C.) Island Packet reported Tuesday.
"Growing up in Indiana ... I think of cows and horses as livestock," Stewart said. "I am not looking to farm, and I'm not going to build an ugly coop in my yard. [Smartie] sleeps in a dog crate in the garage. She mostly stays in my flower beds underneath plants I have out there. She scratches around, and if it's getting dark, she will peck on the door to come in."Stewart said her family adopted Smartie in June and her 3-year-old daughter, Shaelyn, is particularly fond of the bird.
Town Manager Anthony Barrett said police cited Stewart Aug. 30 after receiving a complaint about the ordinance violation.
"I will assure you the police department was not just riding through the neighborhood and saw a chicken and issued a citation. A complaint was filed, and the police department responded," he said.
Smartie the chicken stands on a couch in his family's Bluffton home.
A dog could be considered a fram animal.I guess it depends on what the animal is used for.
I see that the Judge threw the case out and let her keep her pet chicken.
A dog could be considered a “farm”/livestock animal.I guess it depends on what the animal is used for.
She may have run afoul of the law by owning a fowl.
Holy crap a judge with a brain!
Dean Jones: I’ve been reviewing Darren’s internship journal. Doing laundry…
Kramer: …Yeah.
Dean Jones: …Mending chicken wire, hi-tea with a Mr. Newman.
Kramer: I know it sounds pretty glamorous, but it’s business as usual at Kramerica.
Dean Jones: As far as I can tell your entire enterprise is more than a solitary man with a messy apartment which may or may not contain a chicken.
Kramer: And with Darren’s help, we’ll get that chicken.
Doesn’t the upi know how to spell? A chicken is a FOWL, not a foul. Except in her case, I suppose an illegal chicken could be termed a foul. But, I think it’s just kgnorance on the part of the newswriter and the editor.
See post # 5.
The case against a Bluffton family cited for keeping an unpermitted chicken was dismissed Tuesday by a local judge.
However, in his ruling, Bluffton Municipal Judge Kayin Darby sidestepped questions about whether the Stewart family's chicken is, legally speaking, a pet or livestock.
No ruling was issued because the arresting officer didn't show up in court. Officer Joseph Mooney has left the department for another job, according to an assistant solicitor, and no testimony was offered to help determine if the animal creates a nuisance, the judge said.
Mike Cerrati, the assistant solicitor, said he was satisfied with the ruling......
http://www.islandpacket.com/2012/09/18/2215534/judge-tosses-case-against-smartie.html
Hmm - I’ve actually been the guy who made the complaint about 2 decades ago. I had a neighbor who had a chicken coup in his backyard. I didn’t complain until the roosters started waking me and my renter up at 5AM on Saturday & Sunday morning. I lived in the middle of a town - and had just read in the local throw-away rag that the town had a “No Farm Animal” ordinance. I took advantage of it.
The didn’t get rid of the coup after the first complaint. The next weekend - Cock-a-doodle-do - Me “Hello Police Dept.” I was listening in on the police scanner. The call went something like this. “Any unit in the area - we have a domestic call about a rooster waking up the neihborhood.” The response was “Central - let me take that - I talked to them last weekend, and they didn’t take the hint!” Problem solved.
Some cities allow raising of poultry in the back yard, roosters not included.
Hens produce eggs and control bugs.
Your neighbor didn’t get the memo: they are supposed to EAT the roosters — not keep them. LOL.
I have mixed feelings about this. It depends on the size of the lots, I suppose, whether chickens are a nuisance. I live in a community that was once all farms and has gradually become a city, as parcel after parcel is subdivided. I think it is wrong for a subdivision to be built adjacent to an operating farm and then for the residents of the subdivision to complain about farm operations. I’ve seen a lot of that here, and I’d come down on the side of the farmer every time.
The other thing, if the roosters are waking you up (their job) have a little patience and you’ll soon find that you’ll sleep right through it. I kept peacocks for about 10 years (checking with my neighbors first) and they kick up a much bigger ruckus than any chicken. They scream “Rape” at anything that disturbs them. They are terrific “watch” animals and would screech at any car (except ours) that drove into the driveway. But, after a while, I never heard them. I was odd that they could differentiate between our cars and other cars, but they knew, even if they did have pea sized brains.
I should mention that I live on 12 acres with similar acreages surrounding me.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.