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Casper staff propose expanding allowed domestic fowl to include quail and doves; peacocks, turkeys excluded
Summary
City Attorney and animal-control staff presented redlined ordinance language to let residents keep domesticated fowl beyond chickens (for example quail and doves) with a six-bird cap and exclusions for peacocks, turkeys and ducks; staff will return with an ordinance for initial reading and the three-reading process.
City Attorney Eric Nelson and Metro animal-control staff told Casper City Council on Wednesday they have drafted redlined ordinance language to broaden the definition of permitted domesticated fowl in city limits.
The change grew out of a municipal-court case and repeated public inquiries about whether quail and other small non-game birds could be kept inside city limits. Nelson said staff examined Wyoming Game and Fish lists and the Wyoming Livestock Board's classifications and concluded the city needed a broader, clearer class definition rather than repeatedly amending the code for individual species.
Jody Decker (Metro) explained that the proposed language would create a domestic class of fowl that would include quail and doves but would exclude game birds and certain larger species. Staff explicitly proposed excluding peacocks because of noise and sanitary concerns, and they said turkeys and ducks would not be allowed under the new language.
Decker told the council the numeric limit for allowed domestic fowl would mirror the existing limit for chickens: six birds total on a property, whether that is a mix of chickens, quail or other allowed domestic fowl. She emphasized that existing requirements for caging, fencing, food, water and sanitary care would remain in effect.
Councilors signaled philosophical support and staff said they would bring the formal redlined ordinance forward for an initial reading and the city's standard three-reading process. "If you're comfortable philosophically, we've already redlined what we had proposed as the ordinance change," Nelson said; staff requested direction to proceed with the initial reading and public hearings.
What happens next: staff will finalize the redlined ordinance language and return it to council for the initial reading and the three-reading adoption process, and will continue to consult Wyoming Game and Fish and the Livestock Board for species guidance.
