North Vancouver, British Columbia
· adopted 2017-09-11
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Document: 3043278
THE DISTRICT OF NORTH VANCOUVER
KEEPING OF HENS BYLAW
BYLAW 8211
Effective Date - September 11, 2017
CONSOLIDATED FOR CONVENIENCE ONLY
This is a consolidation of the bylaws below. The amending bylaws have been combined with the
original bylaw for convenience only. This consolidation is not a legal document. Certified copies
of the original bylaws should be consulted for all interpretations and applications of the bylaw on
this subject.
Original Bylaw
Date of Adoption
Bylaw 8211
September 11, 2017
Amending Bylaw
Date of Adoption
8559
May 30, 2022
The bylaw numbers in the margin of this consolidation refer to the bylaws that amended the
principal bylaw (Keeping of Domestic Hens Bylaw 8211, 2016). The number of any amending
bylaw that has been repealed is not referred to in this consolidation.
Document: 3043278
The Corporation of the District of North Vancouver
Bylaw 8211
A bylaw to regulate the keeping of domestic hens
The Council for The Corporation of the District of North Vancouver enacts as follows:
1. Citation
This bylaw may be cited as "Keeping of Domestic Hens Bylaw 8211, 2016".
2. Definitions
In this bylaw, unless the context otherwise requires:
a) "chicken" means a domesticated chicken;
b) "coop" means that part of an enclosure that is constructed of solid walls on all
sides and covered with a solid roof, with a wood or concrete floor;
c) "District" means the District of North Vancouver;
d) "enclosure" means an enclosed structure designed for the keeping of chickens,
and consists of a run and a coop;
e) "hen" means a female chicken;
f) "rooster" means a male chicken; and
g) "run" means the outdoor part of an enclosure that is fully enclosed by wire or
mesh on all sides and covered with a solid roof.
3. Applicability
The keeping of hens is permitted on properties located in any of the single family
residential (RS) zones defined in the District of North Vancouver Zoning Bylaw 3210,
subject to compliance with this Bylaw.
4. General Regulations
No person shall keep hens unless they:
a) obtain a permit for the hens from the District by filling out all fields of the hen
permit application form and submitting it with the appropriate permit application
fee set out in the Fees and Charges Bylaw 6481, if any, along with any additional
information required by the District of North Vancouver General Manager -
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Planning, Properties and Permits, or his or her designate and obtaining an
inspection in accordance with section 5 of this bylaw;
b) pay the annual hen permit fee prescribed in the Fees and Charges Bylaw 6481;
c) construct and maintain an enclosure, including a coop and a run, which
enclosure shall:
(i) be enclosed by electric fencing designed and maintained in accordance with
the electric fencing guidelines of the WildSafeBC program developed by the
British Columbia Conservation Foundation;
(ii) be at least two metres in height;
(iii) be constructed only in a rear yard;
(iv) comply with the following property setbacks:
a) From a rear lot line
b) From an interior side
lot line
c) From a dwelling unit
1.2 metres (3.9 feet) minimum
1.5 metres (4.9 feet) minimum
1.2 metres (3.9 feet) minimum
(v) include a coop having:
A. a floor area of at least 0.4 square metres per hen, provided that no coop
floor area shall exceed 5 square metres;
B. an inclined roof constructed of a material that does not collect and hold
heat, which roof shall be covered with waterproof material (but tarps shall
not be permitted);
C. a wooden floor at least 0.3 metres above grade, or a concrete floor;
D. at least one nest box; and
E. for each hen, a minimum of one perch at least 0.25 metres in length;
(vi) include a run with a floor consisting of any combination of vegetated or bare
earth, with at least 1 square metre of floor area per hen;
(vii) be constructed so as to prevent the escape of hens and access by other
animals; and
(viii) be located in an area that provides shade, direct sunlight, good drainage,
and protection from wind;
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d) maintain the enclosure and all parts thereof in good and sanitary condition and
repair;
e) construct and maintain the enclosure so as to prevent any vermin from
harbouring beneath the enclosure or within it or its walls, and to prevent entrance
by other animals;
f) secure all food and water containers in a coop, or otherwise in a manner to avoid
attracting other animals;
g) remove leftover feed, trash, and manure in a timely manner so as to prevent
obnoxious odours, attraction of pests and wildlife, or conditions that could
interfere with the health or well-being of a hen;
h) follow bio-security procedures recommended by the Canadian Food Inspection
Agency;
i) keep hens for personal use only, and not sell, trade or barter eggs, manure,
meat, or other products derived from the hens;
j) ensure that all hens are kept within a secure and locked coop from dusk until
dawn or from 9:00 p.m. where dusk falls later than 9:00 p.m. and until 7:00 a.m.
where dawn occurs earlier than 7:00 a.m.; and
k) ensure that each hen remains at all other times in the enclosure.
5. Inspection
The enclosure must be inspected by the District for compliance with the provisions
of section 4 of this bylaw as a condition of issuing a hen permit and must be
inspected annually thereafter, but no such inspection will be conducted by the
District unless the annual permit fee required pursuant to section 4(b) of this bylaw
and prescribed in the Fees and Charges Bylaw 6481 has been paid.
6. Prohibited Uses
No person shall:
a) keep or permit to be kept any rooster on property that they own or occupy;
b) keep or permit to be kept any chicken younger than 4 months on property that
they own or occupy;
c) keep or permit to be kept more than 6 hens on any single family residential lot;
d) keep fewer than 2 hens, if hens are kept;
e) have or permit more than one enclosure per single family residential lot;
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f) keep a chicken in a cage, other than an enclosure, unless for the purpose of
transport;
g) slaughter, euthanize, or attempt to euthanize a chicken, provided that this will not
apply to veterinary clinics or abattoirs that are legally permitted to slaughter or
euthanize chickens;
h) bury a chicken;
i) leave a dead chicken for more than one day on a property that they own or
occupy;
j) dispose of a dead chicken except by delivering it to a farm, abattoir, veterinarian
or other facility that is legally permitted and able to dispose of chicken carcasses;
k) construct or permit to be constructed an enclosure in the front yard or side yard
of a property that they own or occupy, or otherwise keep or permit to be kept any
hens in any such front yard or side yard; or
l) deposit manure in the municipal sewage or storm drain system, or compost
manure in such a way as to allow manure to enter the municipal sewage or storm
drain system.
7. Enforcement
The Animal Welfare Officer, Bylaw Enforcement Officer and Medical Health Officer
are authorized to enforce this Bylaw and for that purpose may enter at all reasonable
times upon any property to ascertain whether or not the provision of this bylaw is
being obeyed.
8. Obstruction
No person shall interfere with, delay, obstruct or impede a Bylaw Enforcement
Officer or other person lawfully authorized to enforce this Bylaw in the performance
of duties under this Bylaw.
9. Seizure and Disposition
The Animal Welfare Officer or Bylaw Enforcement Officer reserves the right (but is
not in any way obligated) to seize and impound any chicken running astray. If any
impounded chicken is not claimed within 24 hours, the Animal Welfare Officer or
Bylaw Enforcement Officer, or the designate of either of them, may donate,
euthanize or otherwise dispose of the chicken in any manner he or she sees fit. To
claim an impounded chicken, the owner shall pay the fees set out in the Fees and
Charges Bylaw 6481.
10. Offences and Penalties
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a) Any person who:
i.
contravenes a provision of this bylaw;
ii.
causes, consents to, allows or permits an act or thing to be done
contrary to this byaw;
iii.
neglects or refrains from doing anything required by a provision of
this bylaw; or
iv.
fails to comply with any order, direction or notice given under this
bylaw,
commits an offence and is subject to the penalties imposed by this
bylaw and the Offence Act.
(b) Each instance that a contravention of a provision of this bylaw occurs and each
day that a contravention occurs or continues shall constitute a separate offence.
(c) A person found guilty of an offence under this bylaw is subject to a fine of not
less than $1,000.00 and not more than $50,000.00 for every instance that an
offence occurs or each day that it occurs or continues, plus the costs of
prosecution.
(8559)
11. Designation of Bylaw
This bylaw is designated pursuant to section 264 of the Community Charter as a
bylaw that may be enforced by means of a ticket in the form prescribed, and may be
enforced by any person listed in section 7 of this bylaw.
(8559)
12. Municipal Ticket Enforcement
The words or expressions listed below in the Designated Expression column are
authorized to be used on a ticket issued pursuant to 264 of the Community Charter
to designate a violation of the corresponding section of the bylaw appearing in the
Section column. The amounts appearing in the Fine column and the Late Penalty
column are the fines set pursuant to section 265 of the Community Charter for
contravention of the corresponding section of the bylaw set out in the Section
column.
Section
number
Designated Expression
(Short-Form Description)
MTI Fine ($)
Late Penalty Fine (if
Fine unpaid after 30
days) ($)
4(a)
Failure to register
150
180
4(b)
Failure to pay hen permit fee
150
180
4(c)
Improper enclosure
200
230
4(d)
Failure to maintain enclosure
200
230
4(e)
Failure to exclude other animals
200
230
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4(f)
Failure to properly secure food and water
containers
150
180
4(g)
Failure to prevent obnoxious, unsafe or
unhealthy conditions
150
180
4(h)
Failure to follow bio-security procedures
150
180
4(i)
Commercial use of chickens
200
230
4(j)
Failure to secure chickens in coop
150
180
4(k)
Failure to secure chickens in enclosure
150
180
5
Failure to have enclosure inspected
150
180
6(a)
Keeping roosters
150
180
6(b)
Keeping juvenile chickens
150
180
6(c)
Keep more than six chickens
150
180
6(d)
Keep fewer than two chickens
150
180
6(e)
More than one chicken enclosure
150
180
6(f)
Keep chicken in cage except for transport
200
230
6(g)
Killing a chicken
200
230
6(h)
Burying a chicken
200
230
6(i)
Failure to dispose of dead chicken within one
day
150
180
6(j)
Improper disposal of dead chicken
200
230
6(k)
Keep chickens or construct enclosure in front
yard or side yard
250
280
6(l)
Deposit or permit manure in sewer or storm
drain
250
280
READ a first time April 10th, 2017
PUBLIC HEARING held May 16th, 2017
READ a second time as amended July 24th, 2017
READ a third time July 24th, 2017
ADOPTED September 11th, 2017
Mayor
Municipal Clerk
Certified a true copy
Document: 3043278
Municipal Clerk