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Woman going to court to keep chicken
upi ^ | Sept. 18, 2012

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.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Pets/Animals
KEYWORDS: chicken
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To: afraidfortherepublic

Well - these are likely 1/8 acre or less lots in a place that still had a few farms on the out-skirts, but this is really Silicon Valley in the early 80s I’m talking about. I also had a renter of one of my bedrooms and I owed him a quiet place.

Between that and the town ordinance - just a few phone calls took care of the problem. I believe in leaving people alone - a man’s home is his castle and all. Once your activities start impinging on your neighbors right to piece and quiet - that is where I draw a hard line. I would do the same for a loud party past 11pm too. I have tolerance - up to a point.

For years afterwards they kept the chicken coup without roosters. I was fine with that. Hens are that bad by themselves. Roosters waking me up.. Nope.


21 posted on 09/19/2012 7:55:41 AM PDT by fremont_steve
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To: JoeProBono

LOL! Cute. Reminds me of that penguin dancing to the tune “Cool Jerk” in some cartoon movie 20 or so years ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB_if97o0GY


22 posted on 09/19/2012 8:01:10 AM PDT by ETL (ALL (most?) of the Obama-commie connections at my FR Home page: http://www.freerepublic.com/~etl/)
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To: fremont_steve

As I wrote: you are supposed to eat the roosters. I admit that is hard to do, if you have children who are attached to them. After all, the roosters are the ones with the pretty feathers. But, such is life.


23 posted on 09/19/2012 8:05:47 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic (Joe Biden is reported to be seeking asylum in a foreign country so he does not have to debate Ryan.)
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To: JoeProBono

I have a rooster (and hens) in my backyard and live in an urban area on 0.5 acres. I’ve talked to my neighbors and told them that if he wakes them up to let me know and I’ll get rid of him. So far, no complaints. He crows every morning at about 7:00am. There are a lot of other birds in the area that are much louder.


24 posted on 09/19/2012 8:08:44 AM PDT by lwd
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To: BuffaloJack
Smart judge. From the photo, Smartie is obviously a hen and therefore doesn't even crow.

I'd be pleased if our new neighbor would trade his yappy dawg in on a rooster. A rooster will at least shut up once in awhile.

My cousin is being vexed by a fascist home owner's association over a pet snake which she keeps in a glass terrarium in her condo and which never goes outdoors. We're not talking about a python or anything poisonous. Just a common brown desert snake which eats mice, moles and lizards. It loves to curl around her neck, but somebody complained so it is now up to her to prove a longtime pet is harmless.

Why can't the complainers be told to show real evidence that their complaint is grounded in fact or STFU?

25 posted on 09/19/2012 8:09:07 AM PDT by Vigilanteman (Obama: Fake black man. Fake Messiah. Fake American. How many fakes can you fit in one Zer0?)
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To: JoeProBono

26 posted on 09/19/2012 8:26:05 AM PDT by JediJones (KARL ROVE: "And remember, this year, no one is seriously talking about ending abortion.")
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To: JoeProBono

HOA’s should be banned, and the petty little Hitlers that run them should be punched in the face.


27 posted on 09/19/2012 8:30:46 AM PDT by Emperor Palpatine ("On the ascent of Olympus, what's a botched bar or two?" -Artur Schnabel)
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To: JoeProBono
Photobucket
28 posted on 09/19/2012 8:34:21 AM PDT by NCDave (AKA, "That idiot over there")
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To: fremont_steve
I had a neighbor who had a chicken coup in his backyard.

Just imagine: If your neighbor had been of French extraction, that would have been a coupé!

Seriously: Having a coop is a dead give-away!

Regards,

29 posted on 09/19/2012 8:42:59 AM PDT by alexander_busek (Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.)
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To: Emperor Palpatine
Emperor Palpatine said: "HOA’s should be banned, and the petty little Hitlers that run them should be punched in the face."

I live in a rural area and would never want to live under the authority of an HOA.

But I do own a rented condominium which is under such restrictions. I read every word of the Declaration and Bylaws before I signed the purchase agreement. I served as President of the Association for two years and am a member of the Board through proxy today.

Our pet restriction, published in the original documents establishing the association, is that a tenant may have one small dog or one small cat. That's it. No snakes. No chickens.

Condominium living permits a person of lesser means to own a property of much better quality than they could otherwise due to the common ownership of the property, the common walls and roofs, etc. The price you pay to enjoy this increased standard of living is that you must agree to preserve the characteristics which constitute the increased standard of living of your co-owners.

There are plenty of alternative homes available to those who don't wish to surrender their freedom to an association. They are more expensive for a reason.

As for the "petty little Hitlers" that is a problem you can run into when dealing with a group of people who don't object to being regulated by an association. It's simply part of the trade-off. The "Hitlers" are always serving at the pleasure of the membership. A majority of the membership can always replace them.

30 posted on 09/19/2012 10:18:06 AM PDT by William Tell
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To: Larry Lucido; JoeProBono; F15Eagle
The chicken most often seen in my back yard:


31 posted on 09/19/2012 12:39:21 PM PDT by Gamecock (We don't come to Christ to be born again; rather, we are born again in order to come to Christ. RCS)
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To: Gamecock

You should not have that chicken in your yard. I’ll have to confiscate it.


32 posted on 09/19/2012 1:02:32 PM PDT by mrs. a (It's a short life but a merry one...)
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To: JoeProBono

             

33 posted on 09/19/2012 2:15:14 PM PDT by tomkat (parliament of whores, mulatto pimp, cabal of commissars . . . what could go wrong ?)
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