Photo: Contributed

The Village of Keremeos is taking the public’s pulse on a subject that has been a touchy one in many B.C. municipalities.

In response to a request from a resident, council is considering changing local bylaws to allow people to keep hens in residential neighbourhoods.

“We decided that before we do anything that we would get some feedback from the public, “ Mayor Manfred Bauer said.

“We may even wait until the snowbirds are back, because we have about 25 per cent snowbirds who wouldn’t like it if they come back to their house… and suddenly their neighbour has some chickens and they didn’t know anything about it,” he continued.

An initial public feedback window will be open until Jan. 31 2017, but Bauer said they will likely not be making any decisions until April.

Supporters cite food security, fertilizer production and weed and waste control while opponents are worried about noise, odour and attraction of wildlife and rodents.

A poll on the Village of Keremeos website shows 73 per cent of voters opposed to the idea so far.