We believe residents living within the Borough of Wellsboro, PA should be permitted to keep a limited number of poultry as pets in well-maintained structures as defined by a newly crafted ordinance.

A good ordinance protects (1) residents who are participating in a certain activity as well as (2) residents who are not participating and who may be unfamiliar with that activity. The current ordinance only protects the latter.

Current Ordinance #687, Section 2-112, the Keeping of Certain Animals Prohibited, states, "No person shall keep or maintain an apiary or any live swine or pig, live chicken, turkey pigeon or other domestic or wild fowl, goats, alpacas, and other species not defined as or regulated elsewhere in this Part, within the Borough of Wellsboro. Exempted from this prohibition are those domesticated fowl who can be maintained in a cage within the living confines of the owner's residence.

At the August 2020 Borough Council Meeting, the Governance Committee denied our personal request to amend this ordinance. No reason was given for this decision and there was no explanation of having such a restrictive ordinance in the first place. While we are complying with their decision by removing the four hens and four ducks we were raising on our property, we plan to continue pushing for change in this matter.

We ask our fellow residents living within the Borough of Wellsboro, PA, and who want to see poultry permitted on our properties, to please sign this petition.

Raising healthy chickens does not require a large amount of land and resources. Many people in Tioga County, the State of Pennsylvania, and across the country are raising poultry in their backyards and reaping the benefits that they offer as pets. Why is this denied to those who live in the Borough limits of Wellsboro?

Chickens and ducks are fun, friendly pets that help to educate children about where food, like eggs, comes from. Backyard chickens lay healthier eggs compared to store-bought eggs--and they're local! They control insects and dispose of weeds and kitchen scraps, providing high-quality compost for gardening. 

It is understandable that there are concerns about residents raising poultry in their backyards. However, a well-written and enforced ordinance can put those concerns to rest.

1. Ban roosters. If you don't have roosters, chickens aren't noisy. Hens cluck and peep softly all day long, go to bed at dusk, and remain quiet until morning. They don't need roosters to produce eggs.

2.  A small flock of four to five chickens produces as much waste as an average dog (and their waste is more useful!). Their coop will not smell if it is kept clean. This is where crafting a good chicken law comes into play. If the law only allows chickens in a “well-maintained coop,” then a chicken owner with a messy, filthy, smelly coop is out of compliance and can be cited under the law.

3.  Predators: The sad fact is that chickens are food — not just for humans, but for foxes, coyotes, opossums, raccoons, hawks, and sometimes neighboring dogs. It should be the responsibility of the chicken owner to keep their chickens penned and safe, just as they would a pet cat or dog. In any event, the weight of these responsibilities does not lie with the Borough Council but with the property owner.

Please sign this petition to legalize poultry in the Borough of Wellsboro.