- Signatures: 397
- Goal: 1,000
- Deadline: Ongoing...
See Full Petition
Email this PetitionThe Santa Cruz County planning department has graciously agreed to take the time to examine the issue of expediting or exempting the permit process so backyard poultry keepers and small farmers can quickly build biosecure poultry runs and housing that protects poultry from exposure to pathogens, such as avian flu, that can be spread by wild birds. Because the poultry needs to be housed in structures with solid tops, it often requires a permit to construct. Also, since experts believe that bird flu could arrive in our area soon and it can take a great deal of time to construct the proper housing and obtain a permit, we are asking the planning department to expedite or exempt these permits so the structures can be completed in a timely manner to protect our birds and make our community feel safer. This petition does not support making anyone build certain housing or changing the way people keep poultry if they don't want to.
| Number | Date | Name | Any comments? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 398 | 8:32 pm PST, Nov 22 | angela cobbler | |
| 397 | 2:01 pm PST, Nov 21 | R.A. Arslan | Chickens and roosters are beautiful, intelligent creatures who deserve to be treated humanely. People should know where their food comes from. There is a demand for humane farming and it should be as accesible as possible. |
| 396 | 4:34 pm PST, Nov 13 | david darwish | |
| 395 | 6:25 am PDT, Oct 28 | David Ray | |
| 394 | 2:19 pm PDT, Oct 27 | Carrie Loholdt | |
| 393 | 11:31 pm PDT, Oct 17 | Anonymous | |
| 392 | 2:13 am PDT, Oct 11 | Mieke Bernaards | |
| 391 | 10:05 am PDT, Oct 7 | Noah Koski | |
| 390 | 8:30 am PDT, Oct 5 | d lamb | |
| 389 | 1:09 pm PDT, Oct 1 | Susan Ford | This seems like common sense to me. |
| 388 | 10:32 am PDT, Oct 1 | ella seneres | Let the poor chickens live in good places, every creature deserves to live humanely. |
| 387 | 10:44 pm PDT, Sep 30 | Kathy Whitaker | |
| 386 | 6:01 pm PDT, Sep 30 | Roseann Dudrick | It's important that we take measures to safeguard our food supply. |
| 384 | 5:28 pm PDT, Sep 20 | Sheri Charboneau | I think this is important and should be addressed |
| 383 | 4:27 am PDT, Sep 18 | Anonymous | |
| 382 | 12:11 am PDT, Sep 18 | Nicole Ng | go VEGAN/VEGETARIAN to save the animals, ourselves and our beautiful earth! |
| 381 | 6:19 pm PDT, Sep 17 | stella manukyan | |
| 380 | 11:01 pm PDT, Sep 15 | Micki Hippeli | |
| 379 | 8:31 pm PDT, Sep 14 | Jai Carrell | Passing it on to all i know |
| 378 | 5:28 am PDT, Sep 11 | Lynda Harding | |
| 377 | 3:39 am PDT, Sep 11 | LuCy J Boogaard | |
| 376 | 2:24 am PDT, Sep 11 | Tamarah Swensen | |
| 375 | 12:10 pm PDT, Sep 6 | Angela Rhodes | |
| 374 | 6:11 am PDT, Sep 5 | Janelle Michalowski | |
| 373 | 6:26 am PDT, Sep 3 | caroline lawrence | |
| 372 | 2:15 pm PDT, Aug 28 | steve webb | |
| 371 | 4:29 pm PDT, Aug 24 | sarina tanner | |
| 370 | 3:27 pm PDT, Aug 23 | Stefanie Raum | |
| 369 | 3:11 pm PDT, Aug 19 | mohammed jamal | |
| 368 | 8:52 pm PDT, Aug 11 | dave osland | |
| 367 | 10:33 am PDT, Aug 10 | Kat Yazzie | |
| 366 | 3:50 pm PDT, Aug 9 | Anonymous | Let's pass laws to treat all chickens and roosters humanly. They give so much life to all of us! |
| 365 | 1:20 pm PDT, Aug 7 | J. Nelson | Anything to protect our poor little hens and to encourage locally grown/raised food is a sound idea. Thank you. |
| 364 | 12:21 pm PDT, Aug 7 | Fred Ogle | |
| 363 | 8:56 am PDT, Aug 7 | John Fischer | Anything that can be done to promote the reduction of inhumane farming methods gets my vote. Anything that can bring people into a closer relationship with their environment gets my vote too! |
| 362 | 7:52 am PDT, Aug 6 | Peggy Cockerill | |
| 361 | 8:08 am PDT, Aug 5 | Mike Rogers | |
| 360 | 7:47 pm PDT, Jul 28 | Marina Payne | |
| 359 | 9:39 pm PDT, Jul 27 | Austin Kendall | |
| 358 | 10:53 am PDT, Jul 26 | Yvette Monnet | |
| 357 | 2:35 pm PDT, Jul 21 | Anonymous | |
| 356 | 10:23 am PDT, Jul 18 | Anonymous | |
| 355 | 8:12 pm PDT, Jul 15 | Mary Lazer | What could you possible say against the housing for the poultry? |
| 354 | 12:27 pm PDT, Jul 13 | Kita Greenberg | Raising chickens and farm animals humanely is important for people, to maintain their human health and ethical standards. There is small difference between cruel treatment of animals and cruel treatment of people, and non-cruel animal husbandery practices produce healthier animals. Poultry keepers and chicken/egg consumers alike need to keep abreast of safe and humane livestocking practices. Seperating ailing poultry from healthy fowl by means of quickly constructed and biosecure housing is important for the health and welfare of all, as well as the ethical problems that can be prevented by early separation when necessary. Hundreds and thousands of chickens can be spared if mass exterminations for health reasons, can be avoided. The health of non battery-caged poultry are more easily monitored, and therefore safer as well. Humane treatment is one of the greatest prophylactics against disease! I urge you to pass this legislation and any other bills that may come before you that would relieve the unacceptable overcrowding that has become the norm in poultry farming today. Thank you for your suppport, Kita Greenberg |
| 353 | 8:59 am PDT, Jul 11 | Anonymous | |
| 352 | 11:28 am PDT, Jul 10 | Catherine Lewis | I'm very supportive of this! Thank you for bringing it to my attention. |
| 351 | 10:26 pm PDT, Jul 9 | Ana De Loayza | Please be kind to animals. They have feelings and also have a mind. |
Enable Poultry Keepers to Quickly Construct Biosecure Poultry Housing
The Santa Cruz County planning department has graciously taken the time to look into the issue of expediting or exempting the permit process so people can build "biosecure" chicken runs that help to protect poultry from disease, such as bird flu. This petition is in support of that process. They are very busy and we are grateful that they are willing to take the time to do this.
Many experts believe that bird flu could read California soon, as stated in the article "Calif. Lab Helping to Lead Bird Flu Fight" By Scott Lindlaw:
"Many experts, including the state's top veterinarian, Richard Breitmeyer, believe those [California] migratory routes could intersect with Asian bird migrations and bring the disease to California as early as this spring or summer."
While the infection rate to humans is very low, and requires close contact with poultry (so neighbors need not be concerned about poultry next door), the World Health Organization says this in the "Avian influenza ("bird flu") - Fact sheet:"
"Investigations of all the most recently confirmed human cases, in China, Indonesia, and Turkey, have identified direct contact with infected birds as the most likely source of exposure."
And the US Occupational Safety & Health Administration says in the "Avian Influenza Protecting Poultry Workers at Risk" bulletin:
"The virus is excreted in the droppings of infected birds and in their respiratory secretions. Transmission to humans is thought to have resulted from contact with infected sick or dead poultry or their droppings, or contact with contaminated litter or surfaces (e.g., egg flats). The suspected routes of entry of the virus to humans are the mouth, nose, eyes, and lungs. Although the human health risk of low-pathogenic avian influenza viruses is not well established, protective measures should be taken by persons likely to have prolonged direct or indirect exposure to any avian influenza virus in an enclosed setting."
To prevent backyard birds from being exposed to avian influenza, the California Department of Agriculture says you should "Protect birds from wild birds." To do so, you would want to put poultry in enclosures that keep out wild birds and prevent bird feces from falling from above. For example, a run with small wire fencing on the sides and a solid top would help, as well as following other biosecurity procedures as outlined in the US Department of Agriculture publication, "Questions and Answers: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza."
In other areas of the world, and in Southern California during the Exotic Newcastle's Disease outbreak, millions of birds were killed to control a disease outbreak. Poultry keepers in Santa Cruz County would like to be able to be proactive and build protective runs for their birds to protect the birds from exposure to diseases spread by wild birds and to protect themselves from exposure to avian influenza virus. Since many people have runs that are open on the top or let the poultry free-range in fenced enclosures during the day, and because it can take over a month to plan or build the proper enclosure, we are asking the planning department to expedite or exempt certain structures so we are able to protect our birds. These measures can include all or some of the following:
- Allowing people to cover existing poultry runs.
- Allowing people to build new biosecure runs that give each bird 10 square feet and 2 square feet in housing, up to the maximum birds allowed by zoning restrictions.
- Expediting the permit process for biosecure housing.
- Relaxing the restrictions as to where the housing can be placed.
- Allowing people to build new biosecure runs that give each bird 10 square feet and 2 square feet in housing, up to the maximum birds allowed by zoning restrictions.
- Expediting the permit process for biosecure housing.
- Relaxing the restrictions as to where the housing can be placed.
If bird flu does come to Santa Cruz County, people with biosecure housing would be able to preserve their flocks, assure neighbors and family members that they are safe, and prevent the spread of the virus in domestic poultry and to cats and dogs who might consume infected poultry. In other areas of the world, when bird flu arrived there, some people let their poultry free or dumped them at animal control over unfounded fears. By being proactive, we can reduce the impact on animal control and prevent unfounded panic in our community. However, since bird flu could arrive at any time, people need to get started on their runs now. After bird flu arrives, it is likely too late. That is why we need help from planning to be able to construct the runs now.
Note: This Enable Poultry Keepers to Quickly Construct Biosecure Poultry Housing petition was submitted by Cheryl , Organizer. ThePetitionSite.com is a free service provided to help concerned citizens rally support for issues they believe in. The opinions expressed by this petition do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of ThePetitionSite.com or Care2.com. There is no express or implied endorsement of this petition nor any newsletter offers (except those from Care2.com) by Care2.com, Inc, ThePetitionSite.com, or our sponsors. If you believe this system is being abused, please contact customer support.
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