Fowl is now Fair in San Carlos…
May 19, 2008
San Carlos Chicken Law Changed
Anya Knoth, you are my hero…or, heroine I guess is the right term. (Can a 4th grader be a heroine? Sure, why not….)
Anya is not yet a household name, but you could definitely say that she's reached “hen-household” status. Before you cry fowl, a little background is in order… For those of you who didn't know (or could care less,) up until recently you couldn't raise a chicken (or a rabbit) as a pet in San Carlos unless you had a permit to do so. I kid you not — somewhere in the bowels of City Hall there lies a permit request to own a chicken — although nobody in the San Carlos P.D. I spoke with has actually ever seen it. Kinda like an Elvis sighting.
Our heroine, being the 4-H'er that she is, thought this was a dumb law (which by the way it is,) so she did what any sensible 4th grader would do — she took it straight to the San Carlos Police Department and the City Council and got the law changed…and while she was at it, she made this quest the basis for her R.O.P.E.S project (I guess you could say that would be like killing two birds with one stone, which is perhaps not the best analogy here…but you get the idea.)
Why is this a big deal, you ask? Because you'd be surprised at the number of closet chicken farmers there are in San Carlos — those scofflaws who are surreptitiously raising these outlawed birds as pets– including a particular White Oaks Realtor who has requested anonymity for this report. What can I say…they make great pets!
So congratulations to you, Anya. You have proven to all of us that you don't need be part of a group of angry, misbehaving, vocal grown-ups who threaten frivolous lawsuits to get changes made at City Hall. Most important, there are a bunch of chickens (and the kids who are raising them) who can rest a little easier now knowing that they won't be cuffed, fingerprinted, and hauled downtown. I'm not quite sure how one would fingerprint a chicken, but perhaps that's best served in another post.
Now if you're looking for some 4th grade extra credit, would you mind sitting down with Mayor Brad Lewis and fixing the City Budget nightmare? That is, after your homework is done and you've eaten dinner of course…
Posted in:
Anya rocks! 4th-grade–we should all take such initiative with regard to matters of civic interest. A leader in the making!!!
I totally agree….
CG
I hope this encourages others to take a stand for hens in their towns! Great job, Anya!
Just a person with chickens saying, WAY TO GO GIRL