Owning your own bees, livestock or poultry for many of us is one of life's greatest pleasures. It also comes with a lot of responsibility including ensuring you have adequate fenced areas that will contain your stock and access to plenty of water and feed for your animals.
Keeping Bees
For bee keeping within any of the Shire of Gingin’s townsites (Gingin, Guilderton, Lancelin, Ledge Point or Seabird) or rural living areas (i.e. rural estates such as Redfield Park, Woodridge, etc.) you will need to obtain a permit from the Shire. A Shire permit is not required when:
- The occupier keeps bees on the land for the purposes of a continuous period not exceeding 8 weeks AND for the purpose of pollinating a crop on the land.
A person who keeps bees outside of town sites or rural living areas does not require a permit but shall ensure that:
- A permanent and accessible water supply is provided; and
- The hive is kept at least 500 metres from any thoroughfare (i.e. footpath, private street/laneway, or public place) but the vegetation or a screen or other barrier on the land is such as to encourage the bees to fly at a height over the thoroughfare as will not create a nuisance to users of the thoroughfare.
How many hives can I have?
- On land that is less than 2,000 metres² - the occupier can have up to two bee hives.
- On land that is between 2,000 metres² and 20,000 metres² - the occupier can have up to 15 bee hives.
Conditions of keeping bees?
- A permanent and accessible water supply shall be provided.
- Setbacks and screening requirements will apply.
- Annual submission of your Bee Keeper’s license to the Shire.
How do I obtain a permit to keep Bees?
If you live within a town site or rural estate and wish to keep bee hives, please submit an application form to the Shire’s Health Services team. Please include the following documents in addition to your application form:
- Size of property
- Water available
- Distances from thoroughfare, public places and boundaries
- Location of hives
- Any other documentation as required by the Shire of Gingin
- Fee of $170.00.
Please note that should Shire Officers determine that a person has contravened the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007 or the Shire’s Bee Keeping Local Law, a written notice may be issued to have bees and hives removed. Conditions of a permit may be varied or the permit cancelled. Penalties exist under these laws.
For further information, please contact Health Services on (08) 9575 5100 or by emailing mail@gingin.wa.gov.au.
Keeping Poultry
Keeping poultry as pets or for the purposes of consumption is permitted in accordance with the Shire’s Health Local Law.
The following information relates to the keeping of poultry on a residential property to ensure they are not a nuisance to your neighbours. Poultry farms are only permitted in areas of the Shire that are zoned accordingly – Planning and Building approvals are required. For enquiries regarding poultry farming, please contact Shire’s Planning Services – (08) 9575 5100, option 6.
What is the definition of Poultry?
Poultry includes fowls, peafowls, turkeys, geese, ducks and the like.
How many Poultry can I have?
A combined total of up to 12 poultry and pigeons may be kept on any 1 lot of land in a town site. Shire approval is required for numbers exceeding 12 birds.
Roosters, Geese, Turkeys, Peafowl or other Gamebirds
The keeping of roosters, geese, turkeys, peafowl or gamebirds (including emus and ostriches) is not permitted within a town site without the written approval of the Shire of Gingin.
Conditions of keeping Poultry
A person who keeps poultry in limited numbers in a town site shall ensure that:
- No poultry is able to approach within 9 metres of a dwelling house, public building or premises where people are employed or where food is stored, prepared, manufactured or sold
- All poultry is kept in a properly constructed and securely fastened structure or enclosure
- The structure is in a yard having an otherwise unobstructed area of at least 30 square metres
- No poultry are able to approach within 9 metres of a street other than a right of way unless, in the case of land at the junction of 2 or more streets, the Shire has approved a lesser distance
- No poultry is able to approach within 1.2 metres of any side or rear boundary of the premises
- All enclosures or cages within which poultry are kept shall be maintained at all times in a clean condition.
Please note that approvals may be granted with or without conditions. A person granted approval is to keep any birds on the premises only whilst they are the occupiers. Approval may be revoked by the Shire should the birds be causing a nuisance or have been deemed injurious, offensive or dangerous to health.
Further Information
Please refer to the Shire’s Health Local Law for further information on the keeping of poultry and also other animals including doves, pigeons and large animals (e.g. horses, livestock).
Otherwise enquiries may be directed to the Shire’s Health Services on (08) 9575 5100, option 5 or by emailing mail@gingin.wa.gov.au.
Wandering Livestock
Reporting Wandering Livestock
If you see stray livestock out of its regular enclosed area such as on roads or in public reserves, then please report this to the Shire's Rangers immediately on (08) 9575 5140.
Wandering livestock is a serious hazard to road users so the more promptly any loose animals are reported to the Shire's Rangers, the sooner they can be returned to their correct location safely.
Livestock Owner/Caretaker Contact Details Form
Are you the owner or caretaker of livestock? If so then does the Shire have your up-to-date contact information in the event that your stock are found wandering or become involved in an accident?
It is vital that together we make our roads as safe as possible and landowners are responsible for keeping stock securely confined. Failure to securely confine stock could result in animals being impounded and incurring an infringement. The Shire may also issue a fencing notice on property owners whose fences are required to be improved to a standard to ensure stock is securely contained.
If you haven’t already done so, we are asking all livestock owners/managers to provide the Shire with your current contact information (see form below) so that our Ranger team is able to contact you should you have straying livestock.