Friend or fowl? Judge agrees that Vancouver woman kept guinea fowl for 'joy of companionship'

In a decision that highlights the blurry distinctions between exotic birds and domestic fowl, a B.C. judge has ruled in favour of a woman who kept guinea fowl in her Vancouver backyard.

Arielle Reid decided to buy a pair of guinea fowl chicks shortly after she moved to Vancouver from Oregon in 2021. The birds were a happy reminder of time she'd spent in East Africa and childhood visits to her father's family in Jamaica. 

But neighbours complained to the city, saying the birds were noisy. 

The matter landed in court after a visit from a bylaw officer who told Reid she was not allowed to keep the birds.

"He proceeded to tell me they weren't allowed to be kept under the city bylaw … I disagreed with his interpretation," said Reid.

"Eventually the supervisor said … You can either petition the city to change the bylaws or you can take it to court."

WATCH | Vancouver woman's victory in court grants her right to keep guinea fowl hens: 

Vancouver woman relieved after court rules she can keep pet guinea fowl

1 year ago

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Arielle Reid had been told that keeping the fowls went against City of Vancouver bylaws. Now, a judge has ruled in her favour.

In provincial court, the city argued Reid was violating a city bylaw that prohibits people keeping fowl or poultry other than chickens on their property.

Reid, however, challenged the city's interpretation, citing another bylaw that allows residents to keep up to 12 exotic birds as pets. 

In his reasons for judgment, Judicial Justice Zahid Makhdoom wrote that Reid kept the guinea fowl "for the pure pleasure of their proximity," not for eggs or meat.

He also noted that the reference to fowls in the bylaw was not reason enough to prohibit guinea fowl as pets.

Although Reid won her case in court, she no longer has the guinea fowl she was fighting to keep. 

Reid rehomed the birds to a farm in Pemberton, B.C., north of Vancouver, when she decided to challenge the $250 fine for failing to remove the birds from her property. 

"I knew if I lost [in court], my birds may be confiscated by the city ... They knew nothing about these birds," she said. 

Makhdoom took note of Reid's care and decision to rehome the birds to avoid their confiscation by "the pound, who may lack sufficient expertise."

He wrote that Reid kept the birds for the "pure joy of companionship," and that she complied with bylaws permitting residents to keep no more than 12 exotic birds.

"She is entitled to keep these birds so long she complies with other provisions of the bylaw."

In a statement to CBC News, the City of Vancouver said it's "currently reviewing the court's decision to determine next steps." 

Reid, who now has four regular chickens in her coop since her guinea fowl were rehomed, says she's not sure she'll raise guinea fowl in Vancouver again.

"I won the court case, but I lost faith in my neighbours and that's something you can't really get back," Reid said, noting she never heard directly from neighbours about their concerns — only from the city. 

"It's kind of sad, given that Vancouver is a growing city made up of people ... from all over the place and have all sorts of lived experience.

"[It] doesn't really build a sense of collaboration or community, when people you live next to ... are more focused on getting you to comply rather than trying to solve the issue."