Poor Abraham Clark must be rolling over in his grave, considering the goings-on in the New Jersey township named in his honor.
Clark was a Revolutionary War leader and a member of Congress from 1791 to 1794. Seventy years later, the state of New Jersey created Clark Township in his honor.
Clark was a populist defender of the farmers and a skeptic of government. The current township masters of Clark are, on all counts, the opposite.
As if government health officials haven’t crimped our life enough this year, Clark Township just passed a ban on chickens, pigeons, and all “farm animals.”
In a special town council meeting on Feb. 1, the council approved Ordinance 21-05 amending the “Animals” chapter of the township code. “The raising, keeping, and breeding as farm animals … is strictly prohibited,” the ordinance read, defining “farm animals” as “chickens, ducks, geese, pheasants, turkeys, quail or other fowl, cows, goats, rabbits, sheep, swine, horses, or cattle,” among others.
Keeping pigeons was also banned.
During the pandemic, raising pigeons and chickens has joined making sourdough bread and planting gardens as a way to pass the time while being stuck at home while also getting around disrupted supply lines. It has resulted in chicken-versus-government fights all over the country.
But in Clark Township, the pigeon-and-chicken fight isn’t new. The council originally banned chickens in 2012; the 2021 ban was an expansion and clarification of that ban, which wasn’t being obeyed. Back in 2012, the council brought out Nancy Raymond, the township’s health officer.
In a scene that is now very familiar, the health officer declared something to be unsafe because, well, regular people don’t know how to handle it.
Asked if raising chickens created health dangers, health officer Nancy Raymond replied, “No, as long as they’re handled correctly and clean, and if they’re going to slaughter them, they don’t do it at home.” But there was a but. “But if they don’t keep the coop clean, they can attract rats and other wildlife.”
At least this year’s ordinance included some mercy, according to a local reporter: “Chickens already registered with the Department of Health by their owners will be permitted to remain as long as they live. No new chickens are permitted.”
Abraham Clark’s legacy started with the American Revolution and a populist passion. It ended with health czars telling people to give up some more self-reliance for their own good.
