Chickens allowed in hamlets, and the appropriate land size for horses and goats, are a couple of the questions Red Deer County asked their residence to answer at an open house last night, to discuss a proposed Animal Control Bylaw.

County residences filled the Red Deer County Centre last night (Nov. 22), to ask Planning and Development staff any questions or comments they may have

Current Planning Manager for Red Deer County Treena Miller says this bylaw will cover some new areas not previously looked at.

“Red Deer County to date hasn’t addressed hens, or the keeping of livestock on parcels under 3 acres, so we are looking at opportunities to possibly address those issues and to see if the residences of Red Deer County want to see keeping of livestock on those parcels, or to allow for urban chickens inside some of our hamlets.”

Miller says along with an urban hen bylaw, the number of dogs a person can have at one time is also a topic.

“We’re looking at whether or not residences would like to see a limited number of dogs. Of course, if anybody has any amount of dogs exceeding that currently we would look at a grand fathering process. We are also looking at provisions that allow for kennels, and the RCMP dog training facility, those types of developments to be exempt.”  

They will be hosting another open house tonight (Nov. 23) in Springbrook.

Current regulations regarding keeping of animals on a property are within the existing County's Land Use Bylaw.

Creating a separate Animal Control Bylaw will allow the county to regulate these specific regulations, such as how many and what type of animals are allowed within various land use zoning districts within the County.

There is also an online survey you can full out. You can find it here on Red Deer County’s website.