FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
[Montgomery County, Ohio, August 9, 2025] – The Libertarian Party of Montgomery County is calling on the Kettering City Council to respect the rights of residents who keep backyard hens as pets and to allow these families to continue their responsible care.
Backyard hens can be, and often are, family pets. The Combs’ birds are named, loved, and cared for in the same way as a dog or cat. Ohio law acknowledges that animals kept in or around the home for companionship can be treated as companion animals, and courts elsewhere have recognized that hens may qualify as household pets when not raised for agricultural purposes. In Eldorado Community Improvement Ass’n v. Billings, the New Mexico Court of Appeals stated, “If the Eldorado community did not want poultry because poultry were not recognized as household pets, it is reasonable to assume that the residents would have removed the language that anticipates and permits poultry as household pets.”
Kettering’s own city code does not prohibit hens from being kept as pets. If lawmakers intended to ban them, the code would reflect that. Many Ohio cities already allow residents to keep hens under reasonable guidelines, showing that community acceptance of these pets is both real and growing.
This is also a matter of private property and individual liberty. “I’m not sure who was harmed in this situation, causing the city to interject itself into the private lives and property of its citizens,” said Josh Umbaugh, Chair of the Libertarian Party of Montgomery County. “Seems like there could be more important issues for the city to focus on.”
We call for the City of Kettering to stop harassing the Combs and to recognize their hens for what they are: cherished family pets. Be decent, be neighborly, and let peaceful people live in peace.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Libertarian Party of Montgomery County
montgomerycounty@lpo.org
Learn more about the You Are The Power and the Combs situation.