Unwanted backyard chickens ending up at animal shelters

To the Editor, Backyards, Not barnyards! This is a website in Arlington, Virginia which states the reasons not to have backyard chickens and now the property must be one acre or more to do so which is perfectly acceptable. In Time Magazine dated 07/13/13, Paul Shapiro a spokesman for the Humane Society of the United States speaks of animal shelters now taking in hundreds of unwanted backyard chickens because of illness, or the expense.Also, a chicken can only lay eggs for two years and after that people don’t want them anymore. NBC news had a segment on the exact same thing. Enough research for you? I lived on a farm in Tipton years ago and I don’t want to go back to it because I know what it is like. These towns people who want to live back in their grandparents days are dreaming. I mean, doctors use to make house calls too. I don’t read any complaints on that. It is correct that Ann Arbor allows chickens but what I found interesting is that nothing was mentioned that a permit is $20 for a maximum of four chickens. So who will be the chicken monitor of that one?A letter was written that if someone gets pulled over for speeding your car does not get taken away, but in most cases a speeding ticket is given, right? Which makes me think what is the purpose of a “pilot program” if Tecumseh residents are already breaking the law? I have lived in Tecumseh for several years and even graduated from high school here. I know Tecumseh residents would call the Tecumseh police if the Splash Pad was not working correctly on the weekend or if a parked car was parked too long on a street. So if a barking dog is a problem I am sure they will take calls on that as well. God help us when a resident wants fresh milk. Debra LombardoTecumseh