Virginia Government Prosecutes Homeowner With Criminal
Charges For Backyard Chickens
.  
An
ongoing debate over the rights of homeowners to raise and keep their own
chickens may soon gain an audience in the Virgina Supreme Court. Attorneys at
the Rutherford Institute have filed a Petition for Appeal on behalf of
Virginia Beach resident Tracy Gugal-Okroy, who faces criminal charges related
to zoning ordinance violations for keeping chickens in her backyard. The
organization, a nationally active group which is dedicated to upholding
constitutional and property rights, is urging the court to protect local
residents against what it referred to in a statement posted online as
"onerous regulations that render otherwise law-abiding individuals as
criminals simply for attempting to grow or raise their own food in a
sustainable manner."
Gugal-Okroy's
friendly flock has grown to 22 since 2011, when she purchased her first dozen
baby chicks from a local farm. Each one is a family pet, she says, and her
family has named them all. In addition to the enjoyment of their beloved
companionship, Gugal-Okroy's family has come to reap additional benefits from
looking after the chickens -- namely, the continual production of fresh,
organic eggs, a steady supply of sustainable garden compost and fertilizer
the chicken's manure provides, and even natural pest elimination as the
chickens feed on mosquitoes and other bugs. The chickens are quiet and
well-protected from predators, keeping either to their coop or fenced-in
quarters. And all are there with blessings from Gugal-Okroy's neighbors, with
whom she had consulted beforehand.
But her
neighborly courtesy doesn't mean much to local officials in the City of
Virginia Beach. A January 2012 notice from the city inspector alerted
Gugal-Okroy that by keeping her chickens on her property, she may be in
violation of a local zoning ordinance referring to "agricultura rules, regulations and inspection requirements -- manyts, and exceptin indecipherable except to lawyers and bureaucrats -- now impede the ability of
iple letters of support from neighbors, the City's Zoning Board of
Appeals maintained that chickens were not allowed in the city. A later
subsequent to the circuit court also ended poorly for Gugal-Okroy, when in an
October 2012 ruling, the court upheld the zoning board's decision, finding
that Gugal-Okroy had, in fact, violated the zoning ordinance. By that time,
Gugal-Okroy had also received a summons charging her with violating the
city's ordinance, which included a possible fine of up to $1,000.
Attorneys
at the Rutherford Institute are now hoping they can help to shift momentum in
Gugal-Okroy's favor. In their petition to the Virginia Supreme Court, they
challenge the lower court's interpretation of the ordinance, arguing that
restrictions pertaining to keeping fowl or "poultry" within the
city do not apply to animals raised as companions and pets. Nonetheless, the
case does carry potentially serious implications for individuals who prefer
to raise their own wholesome food.
"Burdensome
rules, regulations and inspection requirements -- many of which are
indecipherable except to lawyers and bureaucrats -- now impede the ability of
health-conscious individuals and small farmers to raise and produce their own
food free of corporate contaminants," said John W. Whitehead, president
of The Rutherford Institute. "This case speaks to a growing problem in
America today, namely, the over-criminalization and over-regulation of a
process that once was at the heart of America's self-sufficiency - the ability
to cultivate one's own food, locally and sustainably."
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