16 April 2007

Driving out Parkwood

| johnboy
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The Canberra Times informs us that there’s a big push on to end battery hen production at Parkwood. Sadly some really stupid reasons are being proposed such as the bird flu risk to Macgregor West and our potential listing as an utterly useless UNESCO Urban Biosphere Reserve.

The Greens’ Deb Foskey is apparently drafting legislation to end the revolting practice and, more importantly in this town, developers want the land.

Good outcomes for bad reasons don’t give a great deal of hope.

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intersting article in the age blogs on different egg labelling.

Neanderthalis,

go here here, check the RSPCA’s anal report (yes, it is spelt correctly, read report to see why), specifically the numbers quoted for chook put down in the ACT. With a number just unbder an eighth of this cities population, I would revisit that assumption.

I checked the details on keeping livestock in suburban backyards with various ACT Government departments in 2003 – the combined effects of bushfires and drought meant I was getting desperate for somewhere to keep my horse.

In the ACT, you can keep any animal you like in your backyard, provided it can be done hygienically. In effect, this rules out pigs kept in farm-style manner (as opposed to LA-trendy pet pigs that sleep on your bed). But it’s quite OK to keep goats, chickens, horses etc as long as you clean out and dispose of their waste appropriately. If the neighbours start complaining about the smell, you’ll be in trouble with Urban Services.

The other issue to consider in the ACT is planning laws for outbuildings. If you don’t have a garage or shed to conveniently convert, you may find that the size of outbuilding you need for your animals requires planning approval. Which means the neighbours might reasonably object.

That said, lots of houses in Canberra already have stables, or garages that could be converted. Check out Duffy Street in Ainslie for examples – backs right onto reserve with horse riding trails too (a guy at Campbell Park offices used to ride his horse to work every day from Hackett, and park it under a tree with some hay & water for the day).

There’s plenty of people who keep livestock in their backyard – RiotAct has had previous discussions about the lady who walks her goats in Ainslie parks.

neanderthalsis10:06 am 17 Apr 07

Do ACT Planning laws allow the keeping of domestic animals in urban areas? I know that in many suburbs in Brisbane you cannot keep chooks because of council “anti-chicken discrimination” laws.

Having grown up eating fresh eggs, I must say that even “barn eggs” and free range eggs can’t compare with a genuinely fresh egg. Not to mention the odd double yolker.

I doubt that “back yard production” causes any harm to chooks S4anta, they are hardy little creatures, eat whatever you throw over the fence into their run and can be comfortable housed in a converted garden shed and a small chicken wire enclosure. Predators, from foxes and snakes to small children can be kept at bay by adding a couple of geese to your flock. And once the go off the lay, it’s a quick trip to the oven and roast chook for tea,

DarkLadyWolfMother9:57 am 17 Apr 07

I love eggs.
But only if the two chicks are hot, VY?

And S4nta, I never had issues collecting eggs, and I would class myself an amateur in that area. I’m sure someone who’s been to CIT to learn eggology wouldn’t have to “battle with them”.

(You know, even I can’t tell if I’m being serious today).

Even if Chickens are kept in ‘free range’, away from predators and the Green movement, they still will behave the same, and create exactly the same injuries that occur inside the cage, outside it.

Look closely at the ;organic’ and not in battery cage egg producing operations and you will see that very little has changed. If anything labour costs go up, because you cannot use a conveyer belt to collect the eggs, some poor bastard has to do battle with a couple of chooks in a shed, covered in poo. Nopt cool. The best way to solve this is for more back yard production, and that will cause more harm to chooks through ineptitude that rearing them in a shed.

softheads, and thas even before economics comes into it.

VYBerlinaV8 now_with_added grunt4:33 pm 16 Apr 07

Nor do unhappy chicks.

Unhappy hens don’t lay, Seepi.

Having solved the chicken-abuse problem, attention should now be focused on the farmed-pig problem. After that is solved, we should think about the plight of the baked bean. I hear those beans go through a tortuous process when they are baked.

Some research has shown the chooks prefer the barns to freerange.
Either freerange or barn eggs are good I think – as long as the chooks are not in battery cages having their beaks chopped off to avoid fights.

Suddenly increasing the patronage of the Canberran sourced free range egg to 300,000+ would make them rarer than gold.

“i thought the green zealots want us all to eat food grown in ourt local area to avoind the earth killing emissions of trucks etc transporting eggs from other states ?

yet more evidence this green religion is idiotic.”

What an educated comment to make….
This has nothing to do with transporting eggs from state to state, or truck emissions.
There are plenty of free range available in Canberra, and if you think that caring about the welfare of animals and the environment is idiotic, then I really think that makes you ignorant and idiotic youself.

I think the proof that free-range is better is in the eggs. After getting the “home cooking” bug this year, i have seen the difference in egg quality can make to my cooking

I go out of my way to get free-range eggs now.

This situation is very similar to people who buy new inner city places only to find out that they are living above a nightclub, and them campain for them to be shutdown.

Personally I don’t care about the chickens, and I don’t think most of the parties involved do either. I believe most of the concerned are developers looking to make a buck out of land at West Macgregor.

Another good place for eggs are the farmer’s markets around Canberra. Lots of fresh eggs from small-scale producers who don’t do it quite the same as barn-laid eggs from large producers.

“Free Range” eggs are a bit of a furphy. The chicks spend the first few weeks of their life confined to a barn. When they reach a certain age, they open small doors on the sides of the barn to the outside. Of course, having never seen the outside, and being inherently cautious animals, very few chooks actually go outside to scratch around.

Of course, it’s still vastly preferably to batteries.

The best eggs you’ll get are from your own chooks. They’re dead easy to keep, rarely get sick, and can exist almost purely on kitchen scraps and what they find as they scratch around. The eggs are far, far better than anything you’ll ever buy at the shops. Add to that the fact that they’re endlessly amusing.

Snahons_scv6_berlina12:01 pm 16 Apr 07

mmmm scrambled eggs on toast…

Lots of free range eggs available in the ACT, lots grown in the local area too. There’s no need for battery production here.

and if i ate more eggs my typign woudl improve

i thought the green zealots want us all to eat food grown in ourt local area to avoind the earth killing emissions of trucks etc transporting eggs from other states ?

yet more evidence this green religion is idiotic.

VYBerlinaV8 now_with_added grunt11:21 am 16 Apr 07

I love eggs.

Never mind – if it is stopped that is a great thing.

In this day and age we shouldn’t still have this archaic practice going on.

So, basically it wouldn’t have been stopped unless there was more money to be made another way?!

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