St. Thomas politicians heed expert’s avian flu warning, halt backyard chickens plan

Politicians in St. Thomas put off a decision Monday night to launch a pilot program allowing backyard chickens amid concerns about the deadly avian flu.

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Coun. Steve Wookey said he supports a pilot project but agrees it makes sense to wait.

 

“If we say yes to this and somebody spent several thousand dollars on prepping their backyard, and all the things that go along with that, then six months from now there’s a bigger issue with avian flu and we shut it down, I think that’s doing a disservice to the project,” he told his colleagues.

Coun. Tara McCaulley called it a “tough decision” – noting she’s spoken to residents who are both for and against the program – but agrees deferring the vote is the right move.