COLUMBUS – If you want to keep a cow, sheep or water buffalo within the Columbus city limits, there’s a permit for that.
No one has a permit for any of those creatures, according to Columbus Public Health officials, but there are plenty of chickens in the city.
And a growing number of complaints about the backyard fowl have prompted the city to propose some changes about how domestic farm animals are kept and permitted.
READ MORE: In The Columbus Dispatch
A public meeting seeking input on the proposal is set for 5:30 p.m. today in the second-floor auditorium of Columbus Public Health’s offices at 240 Parsons Ave.
“The urban environment is changing,” said Jose Rodriguez, the health department’s spokesman. “More and more people are inquiring about having animals, and we’re getting more and more complaints.”
The city responded to 140 complaints about chickens and other farm animals last year, compared with 30 in 2010, said Luke Jacobs, assistant administrator for environmental health.
Many of those who are confronted by inspectors and don’t have a permit get rid of the animals once they are informed about the requirements for keeping them, including structures needed to house them, he said.
The public meeting is for those who have a permit, need to obtain one or are thinking about getting such animals.