New turn in chicken debate

Neighborhood email traffic, which has been hot and heavy on the pros and cons of backyard chickens ever since the proposition hit the city council two months ago, has taken a new turn.

Foxes.

Since foxes are known to frequent some inner-Durham neighborhoods, and foxes love chicken almost as much as preachers, the question has been raised:

If Durham allows citizens to raise hens in their yards, won't that attract even more foxes?

And if the foxes find good eating, won't they be breeding more little foxes?

Couldn't an influx of domestic chickens lead to an explosion in the fox population?

If the fox population explodes, won't it outpace the food supply, leading to hungry foxes all over town?

Are street foxes, scrounging a living from trash cans, really what Durham wants?

Silly? No more so than some of what's been said in city council hearings on the subject.

Hey, foxes gotta eat, too.