List of by-laws by administrative region in Quebec and other provinces

FACT SHEET FOR MUNICIPALITIES
http://www.mapaq.gouv.qc.ca/fr/Publications/Poulesenville.pdf

Currently, most cities are changing the bylaws regarding laying hens in our yards as a pet. There were only by-laws that governed the rural area and the breeding dating back to the 1960s. Steps must be taken to explain this new practice to our elected officials. The guide of more than 350 pages (For the legality of laying hens in urban and residential areas) was digitized and sent to all municipalities in Quebec in the spring of 2016. You can get me the email list of your elected officials so that I can send them via Dropbox or Google Disc the entire document.

To be able to let our hens out on a fenced yard under supervision should be allowed to let the hens express their basic essential needs of exploring and scratching and feeding on grasses and insects and respect animal behavior and animal welfare. Otherwise, there is no point in having chickens as pets because their eggs will not be more nutritious than industrial eggs. The #1 reason to have chickens according to all surveys is to have better quality eggs and to experience the pleasure and enjoyment of these pets.

A new law 54 ( December 2015 protects the rights of animals and we must act accordingly and see to it that they have the best possible welfare).

According to PMAF (World Protection for Farm Animals. For chickens, it is the right to explore in freedom. This right is part of the 5 freedoms defined by the FAWC:

Opportunity to express normal species behaviors (behavioral aspects).
There are no studies that prove that our free-range chickens are neither vectors of disease nor more prone to disease. Outbreaks almost always occur in industry. Animal welfare organizations around the world are demanding that industries return free-range hens to the ground and outside on pastures.

https://www.ciwf.com/

Click to access Guideapplication_Loi_Bien_etre_animal.pdf

http://legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca/fr/ShowDoc/cs/B-3.1

https://fr.worldanimalprotection.ca/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk7MraBzkBU

http://www.welfarequality.net

Laying hens must be given the same right. Citizens must inform their elected municipal officials, meet with them, discuss, and make their views known. Having urban laying hens without a rooster is not breeding. There is no breeding. They are pets.

In general, there is a legal vacuum, a grey area and citizens do not have clear answers. On the other hand, several cities in Quebec and Canada allow laying hens: (Chambly/, St-Colomban, Drummondville, Saint-Lin, Sorel-Tracy, Chambly, Carignan, Ste-Julienne, Ste-Béatrix, Mont-Joli, Victoriaville, Val-Cartier, the city of Laval tolerates hens everywhere on its territory. The Canadian cities of Vancouver, Kingston, Moncton, St-John’s (N.B.), Fredericton, etc. have given permission to keep laying hens. Some of these cities have issued premises and operating conditions that are not always suitable for the health of the hens.

Citizens all over North America are demanding the right to let chickens roam around during the day in a well-fenced yard, just as dogs and cats have the right to freedom.

Many Canadian cities such as Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, Surrey, B.C., Kingston, Ontario, Brampton, Niagara Falls and Caledon, Moncton and Saint John, N.B., as well as some of the boroughs of Montreal, Gatineau, Whitehorse, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Halifax, Winnipeg, Regina and Saskatoon, have endorsed this.