I can understand peoples' reasoning behind raising chickens but there are downsides as well.

In my local, the City ten years ago, when eggs were dirt cheap, allowed urban backyard (and now front yard) chicken raising. That year two hundred cats and some small dogs went 'missing', including my two cherished cats, who for ten years had free and safe range of my yard and surroundings.

Soon, poster after poster of missing pets adorned most telephone poles, literally crying for any sign of their beloved pets, all in vain. Coincidence...no. What was left of my two cats and others I found was mixed with coyote fur. People end up beefing up their chicken coops to make them impregnable to bears, bobcats, coyotes, raccoons and other predators. The home KFC drive thru with its appealing aroma and sounds, now unavailable, still kept drawing an increasing number of predators. Well you can guess what happened. The predators, particularly coyotes went for the next best and easier target.

People said, 'Should have kept your cats inside.' After ten years of being free, that was never going to happen. Just look at felines in a zoo, endlessly pacing, very sad. Cats love being free and they did a damn fine job of keeping the mice and voles in check. Now virtually every yard and garden in the entire City has a plague of mice, voles and their endless diggings when before that wasn't an issue. People switched to huge pet dogs and now there is an unsightly plague of huge brown canine calling cards. It was an unforeseen and unwanted biological domino effect.

Ok, ten years ago urban chickens seemed more about virtue signaling and maybe still but also now about necessity. That won't change some of the negative, unforeseen and heartbreaking consequences. The real disheartening part of the whole thing is that many of my neighbours have given up on raising chickens, saying it just got to be too much bother.

Oh well...I may be pet-less now but at least I have a Bad Cats!