Wilmington council: Farm animals OK for emotional support

Wilmington residents in need of emotional support can soon seek solace in chickens, goats, horses or even oxen, thanks to legislation passed by the City Council on Thursday.

The ordinance allows Wilmingtonians with a doctor's note to soothe their psyches by keeping farm animals, fowl or any animal "suitable for slaughter or for the production of milk." It passed, 9-3, after a lengthy discussion on the council floor.

Councilman Nnamdi Chukwuocha, who sponsored the law, said it provides a "reasonable accommodation" that mirrors federal protections for people with emotional needs. He envisions it could help people who suffer from anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder or other trauma that accompanies poverty and gun violence in Wilmington.

"The emotional support animals can help individuals alleviate those symptoms, to become better in control of themselves, to assist in improving their quality of life," the District 1 representative said. 

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Emotional support animals are different from service animals and are not entitled to enter private businesses. The measure passed by the council applies only to housing. 

"They won't be in restaurants. They won't be on buses, in the supermarket or any other privately owned place," Chukwuocha said. "You won't see these animals walking the streets."

It's unclear how many city residents will take advantage of their new freedom to bond with barnyard animals. No government agency tracks it, according to spokespeople from the Office of Animal Welfare and the Department of Agriculture. 

Councilman Bob Williams voted against it. He called the law a "feel good" measure that will affect a small percentage of the population. He expressed concern that animal shelters will be faced with donations of nontraditional animals. 

"What happens when people can no longer afford these pets?" he asked. "Then we're going to put the burden on the Humane Society. What kind of budget line are they going to have to come up with to accommodate pigmy goats and miniature horses?"

The District 7 representative said the council should focus on bigger priorities.

"Wilmington's got 99 problems, but cuddling farm animals just ain't one," he said. "Once this barn door is opened, the menagerie is cut loose, and we can't stop it."

Support animals must be "domesticated," but there is no weight or size restriction.

"Is there anything we're not allowing?" Councilman Vash Turner asked in a recent committee meeting. "What if we have a Dr. Dolittle running around our city giving out prescriptions to a honey bee ... or a water buffalo?"

The city is putting its faith in doctors, according to Legislative and Policy Director David Karas.

"I would certainly hope from a policy and philosophical standpoint that you wouldn't have a doctor who was arbitrarily writing prescriptions," he said.

Councilwoman-at-large Loretta Walsh on Thursday noted Chukwuocha's good intentions but said she was concerned that a system based on doctor's notes could be "misused."

"If you're 18 years or older (in California), you can basically get a medical marijuana certificate from a physician," she said. 

Nontraditional emotional support animals have garnered headlines. Stories include a woman who brought a turkey on an airplane, another plane passenger who brought along a marmoset monkey and a man who relies on an African leopard tortoise to relieve his post-traumatic stress disorder.  

Local governments outside of Delaware have been forced to consider allowing emotional support animals to be an exception to residential livestock bans. 

Aldermen in Kane County, Illinois passed legislation last year that allowed a man to keep his teacup pig, Pigly Brown, as an emotional support animal. 

Two residents of Marionville, Missouri, butted heads with their local aldermen last year in an effort to keep their micro pot-bellied pigs, certified as emotional support animals. One resident said her pig assuages the stress related to health issues. The other said the animal helps her 10-year-old son, who has attention-deficit disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. 

In Wilmington, council members Chukwuocha, Trippi Congo, Zanthia Oliver, Michelle Harlee, Yolanda McCoy, Bud Freel, Rysheema Dixon, Sam Guy and President Hanifa Shabazz voted for the ordinance. Williams, Walsh and Ciro Adams were opposed. Turner was absent.

Contact Christina Jedra at cjedra@delawareonline.com, (302) 324-2837 or on Twitter @ChristinaJedra.