A man from Windsor, Ont., is asking city council to change a bylaw that prevents him from raising chickens in his backyard.

Bylaw 8156, passed on March 18, 1985, bans the keeping of chickens, turkeys, ducks and other "domestic fowl" within city limits. The fine for violations is $100.

But rising food prices and growing concerns about food safety mean many people want more control over their food supply, and "keeping backyard chickens is a real solution to the question of accessible protein," according to resident Steve Green.

In a 15-page letter to be reviewed by council Monday night, Green asks council to establish "a working committee to examine the possibility of urban chickens in Windsor."

That request does not fly with Coun. Fulvio Valentinis.

"I really don't think that Windsor is the type of urban area that lends itself to the raising of chickens," Valentinis told CBC News.

"If you start allowing people to raise what I call 'farm animals,' you've got all sorts of issues in terms of cleanliness," Valentinis said. "You've got issues of noise, you've got issues of, what do you do if the chickens die and you've got to dispose of the bodies?"

Green offers 15 examples of municipalities in Canada and the United States, including Brampton, Ont., Esquimault, B.C., and New York City, whose bylaws allow the raising of chickens.

Green's request comes less than six weeks after the Windsor/Essex County Humane Society plucked two chickens from a backyard in Windsor.

On Sept. 25, a man saw the chickens pecking at birdseed in his backyard and called in humane society officials.