Published on Wednesday, 21 December 2022 at 11:50:00 AM

From chicken to bees, Vincent has adopted a new animal local law that serves as a one-stop shop for animal lovers.

The Animal Local Law 2022 provides for the management, control and regulation of the keeping of dogs, cats, poultry, bees and other animals in Vincent.

Residents, other than those living in apartments, can now have up to six chickens or pigeons at home in an enclosed pen, as long as they ensure there is no public health nuisance. This will bring to an end the Poultry Prohibited Zone in the southern suburbs of the City of Vincent.

Registered beekeepers can have two hives at their property of 400 sqm or less or four hives if their property is bigger than 400 sqm.

“Many residents have been wanting to have chickens and bees in their backyards but some faced prohibitions or strict setback rules under the previous local law,” said Mayor Emma Cole.

“Giving people more autonomy to have chickens and bees fits with our sustainability ethos in Vincent.

“Chickens are becoming increasingly popular in our inner city suburbs, with people wanting to raise chickens to take on the vegetable scraps and in turn, lay fresh eggs each day.

“Bee hives and DIY bee homes are also on the rise, as people understand the positive impact that bees have on our local biodiversity and the health benefits of honey.”

The process to reform the local law started with Saskia from Highgate Primary School coming to a Council Meeting to ask Council to allow her family to have chickens.

The process concluded at this month’s Council Meeting with Piper from Bob Hawke College presenting to Council to seek their support for approval of the new local law so that she could have chickens for the first time.

“It has been fantastic to see our young residents engage with us on this and to know how much they are looking forward to raising chickens at home,” said Ms Cole.

The new law includes cat prohibited areas such as Britannia Road Reserve, Smiths Lake Reserve, Robertson Park, Banks Reserve and Hyde Park, which are environmentally sensitive.

The former City of Vincent Health Local Law 2004 contained outdated prescriptive requirements which prevented many property owners from keeping poultry and bees.

The existing Dog Local Law would be repealed and transitioned to the Animal Local Law 2022.

The Animal Local Law 2022 will be gazetted and provided to the Western Australian Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation.

Following gazettal, Vincent will provide local public notice that the local law has been published in the Government Gazette.

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