Question I would like to buy and keep 3 and only 3 adults hens in my fenced in garden in Philadelphia. What must I do to keep them legally?
Answer this is probably dependant on your neighbourhood and how tolerant the actual neighbours in the area are. Here is an article with the legal info though. see article below...hope this helped~
Judge: City Can't Stomach Potbellied Pig's Presence
Asher Hawkins
The Legal Intelligencer
03-13-2006
If you don't run a slaughterhouse, a veterinary clinic, an animal shelter or a licensed circus, then you have no right to keep a potbellied pig within city limits, a Philadelphia judge has ruled.
In his recent opinion in City of Philadelphia v. Saunders, Judge Robert S. Blasi put the issue to rest: The porcine creatures -- lauded by those who own them as pets as being as friendly as dogs and as easily housebroken as cats -- are considered farm animals for the purposes of the city's relevant ordinances.
Blasi, noting that the city's code of ordinances does not differentiate between different types of pigs, found that "it is reasonable to prohibit the ownership and keeping of a pig in the city of Philadelphia."
"This court cannot and will not legislate to distinguish between different types of pigs," Blasi wrote. "This is purely a power that rests in [the] legislative purview of the Philadelphia City Council."
The defendants in the case are the Saunderses, who live in the Byberry neighborhood of the city near the Northeast Philadelphia Airport.
Their attorney, Samuel DiMatteo of Dellavella & Associates in Philadelphia, said that the family lives in a "regular row home" that has a fenced-in backyard behind it.
Charles Saunders was given the pig as a pet by his co-workers upon his retirement from the U.S. Postal Service.
Divisional Deputy City Solicitor Andrew Ross said that in pursuing its action against the Saunderses, the law department was merely enforcing the city code.
"We're not making a value judgment ourselves about potbellied pigs," Ross said. "City Council has done that."
According to Blasi's opinion, Charles' wife, Terri, testified that they named the pig Jackie and that the animal was given the run of their home's garage, laundry room and recreation room as well as part of the back yard.
"The pig has a doggie door to enter the rear yard to go to the bathroom," Blasi wrote. "The rear yard, which is enclosed by a fence, is approximately 20 feet by 20 feet."
When alerted to the presence of the pig in the Saunders home, the city sought a permanent injunction barring the family from keeping farm animals at their residence.
The city cited §10-112 of the Philadelphia Code, which addresses the keeping of farm animals in city limits. That section limits possession of farm animals within city limits to certain facilities and organizations, including slaughterhouses, zoological parks, veterinary clinics or animal shelters, circuses and certain educational facilities.
An earlier section of the code includes "pig" in its list of creatures officially defined as "farm animals."
In October 2005, Blasi sided with the city and ordered the pig removed from city limits. The Saunderses have appealed to the Commonwealth Court. In his Feb. 23 opinion, Blasi urged the appellate court to affirm his decision.
According to the opinion, a city animal control officer who visited the Saunders residence found that the yard and basement were clean and did not detect any noticeable offensive odors. The officer also testified that the pig lives like a pet.
"Although the Saunders[es] argued that the pig is a pet and acts like a pet, the court is restricted by the prohibition on keeping a pig in Philadelphia by the general ordinances," Blasi wrote.
Ann Pasquariello of the law department, who has represented the city in the matter, said that in the past dozen years, there have been three attempts to have potbellied pigs exempted from Philadelphia's anti-farm animal ordinances. Council has rejected those attempts each time, she said.
DiMatteo said that the Commonwealth Court has ordered that appellate briefs in Saunders be filed in mid-April.
