Chickens on allotments - 1950 Allotment Act

Recently I wrote an article about keeping chickens on allotments and recapped my experience with my local association.  When I first requested to keep a few chickens they refused.  So I decided to do a little research.

My article was published Country Smallholding in the January 2013 issue and I hope it was an interesting read. 
I doubt many will have seen it so here is a little about the law surrounding chickens and allotments.

The 1950 Allotment Act allows the keeping of hens and rabbits on allotments and is viewed as an allotment holder’s right, so long as they are for your own use and not for business or profit. It is worth checking your tenancy agreement if you have one.  Some private landlords may have included a clause preventing the keeping of animals. 

The Act allows for any animal to be removed from the allotment if it is deemed to be a nuisance, health hazard or their well-being is being affected.  Cockerels are not permitted.  This is certainly something to remember.

Allotment Act was enacted to assist post second world war with families producing their own food that was in shortage.  It is still in effect today, however there are some conditions you must meet.

• It appears to apply to Council owned/run allotments or allotments that were previously council owned and then transferred into private ownership.  If you are renting land from a farmer I doubt you will be able to rely on the Act.

• Welfare is paramount - you must have the correct housing and the animals must be well looked after.  Welfare codes enforced by the RSPCA and DEFRA should be followed.

• As mentioned earlier due to noise cockerels are not permitted.

So if you are considering keeping chickens and your back garden is not big enough or suitable, try registering for an allotment, preferably with a local authority. You can grow veg and keep a couple of hens for eggs or even meat.

Thanks for reading