Backyard chicken bylaw back on agenda for Fort St. John

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Backyard chickens are back on the agenda at City Hall as a councillor prepares to propose a bylaw at a future council meeting. 

During the July 28th regular meeting of the City of Fort St. John council, Councillor Jim Lequiere brought the topic of backyard chickens back before council. 

The topic was previously discussed in 2017, where the North Peace BC SPCA stated it could not handle chickens who were abandoned or required care, resulting in the council deciding to not allow chickens to be kept in the city. 

The District of Taylor passed a bylaw allowing residents to keep backyard hens and bees in 2023, and licences can be issued for residents wishing to keep fowl in the City of Dawson Creek. 

Residents are also allowed to keep hens in their backyard if they live in the District of Chetwynd, District of Tumbler Ridge and Fort Nelson under the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality. 

During the July 28th meeting, Fort St. John city staff reminded council that allowing backyard fowl would be more complex than simply passing a bylaw. 

As in 2017, the North Peace BC SPCA have “very little desire” to get into the “business” of caring for abandoned fowl, according to Darrell Blades, the city’s deputy chief administrative officer. 

Acknowledging this, Lequiere brought the topic forward as a notice of motion for city staff, expressing an interest in researching possible alternative care providers that would allow the city to approve a bylaw related to backyard fowl in city limits. 

A notice of motion is a heads-up to staff, and allows them to prepare research for a recommendation that will be received in a future council meeting. The recommendation may lead to the request for a new bylaw.