Marion to Discuss Urban Chickens and Ducks as Pets this Week

Every Easter time there's a few businesses that sell ducks, and unwitting customers wind up with a pet that they legally can't have in Marion.

The city has to step and give a 30-day notice, and it can be a messy situation.

"Close to Easter, some retailers sell ducks," City Manager Lon Pluckhahn said. "By the time we find out about it, they are beloved family pets, and right now they aren't allowed to have them."

The City Council will get briefed on the city laws for so called bothersome animals this week, which can include ducks, urban chickens and even a miniature horse. City Council had a work session last night on the issue and a regular voting meeting on Thursday. 

Last fall, someone asked the council to consider legalizing pet ducks, but as of yet there's been no requests for urban chickens, Pluckhahn said. A number of communities around the country have taken up urban chickens, and it was recently legalized in Iowa City.

Aside from reorganizing how bothersome animals are addressed in the code, particularly consolidating the matter under zoning, the City Council could change the rules for these possibly misunderstood creatures.

"They have the option to allow a certain number, and they have the option to keep it the same," Pluckhahn said.