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Jiri Rambousek will be allowed to get his hens.

The Summerside resident got final approval from city council Monday night to keep up to four laying hens for eggs at his Central Street property, though he has stated he only wants two.

Summerside’s Animal Control Bylaw requires anyone wishing to keep chickens within the city to acquire a permit, which requires approval from city council.

Rambousek is the first resident to apply for such permission in more than a decade and there have only been two other cases of such permits being issued in the past 15 years.

Council voted 7-1 to give Rambousek the permit. The only dissenting vote was from the applicant’s own councillor, Greg Campbell, who said he’d been contacted by a number of residents opposed to chickens being allowed in the ward, so he felt compelled to vote against the application.

Rambousek’s permit is good for one year. He will have to apply again next year to keep the hens, but if this year passes without incident he’ll only have to reapply every other year going forward.

His permit is also subject to termination if the city’s animal control officer (which the chief of police is the stand-in for) finds he has breached the terms under which it was given.