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Residents urge ban or stricter enforcement on backyard chickens after spate of rat sightings
Summary
Multiple Teaneck residents told the council they and neighbors are facing new, persistent rat infestations that they link to permitted backyard chicken coops and asked the township to tighten inspections or eliminate permits; staff says inspections, notices and pest-control requirements are being enforced and will be re-checked.
Eva Marie Jennings, who lives at 962 Windsor Road, told the council the problem has reached a public-health level. "A $25 backyard chicken permit issued every other year functions like a tax on residents that do not raise chickens," Jennings said, adding that when violations occur "neighboring homeowners are left paying substantial extermination costs" and that her exterminator had seen bait consumed at every visit.
Several other residents — including Dory Rivera and a neighbor who said rats "have run across my feet" — asked the township to reconsider allowing backyard chickens. Rivera urged the council to consider eliminating permits, saying residents are "no longer comfortable in my backyard at all."
Councilmembers asked for data on the number of active chicken permits and called for faster follow-up inspections. Manager Jacqueline Hashmat described the department's current enforcement steps: complaint intake, inspection, a notice of violation with 7–10 business days to cure and the requirement that the permit holder obtain pest-control services and provide proof. Hashmat said staff will re-inspect problem properties this week and recommended bringing Health Officer Michael Meyer to a future meeting to provide recommendations.
