Feral Chickens ruffle feathers in Honolulu’s residential communities
By Cynthia Yip
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HONOLULU (KITV) — Noisy feral chickens and the people who feed them have become a growing concern for an O’ahu neighborhood. Some residents say they’re grappling with the consequences of this seemingly harmless act.
In the usually quiet neighborhood of Kapahulu, feeding feral chickens has become a problem.
“Kevin” is a neighbor who wants to be anonymous.
“It’s disturbing my sleep because the roosters are crowing at all hours of the night, starting from as early as 11 p.m. and going until the daytime and I’m sure that there are other neighbors that hear this. And yeah, it’s quite a nuisance,” he said.
Kevin and other neighbors in this community asked that we hide their identity including the neighbor who they are accusing of feeding the feral chickens.
“Maria” is the neighbor being accused of feeding and keeping feral chickens.
“I understand they want their sleep. They do crow at odd hours in the morning, but don’t assume that they are our chickens and don’t assume we are trying to keep them here,” Maria told Island News.
Maria says the chickens have grown up in the yard of her family’s home and do not want to leave, even when she stopped feeding them for two weeks. She has also looked into humane and inexpensive ways to rid her home of the chickens.
Under the city’s animal nuisance ordinance, there is nothing that the Department of Customer Services can do to prohibit the feeding of feral chickens on private property.
“Jay” is another neighbor who wants to be anonymous and lives near Maria.
“The problem has grown and as you can hear the noises. It’s a pretty big nuisance, not just to us but to all the neighborhood around us who are in agreement that this is a big issue. We confronted her and her husband, who said they wanted to work with the neighbors, but actually it seems that they want to keep feeding and taking care of the feral chickens,” Jay said.
In response to the issue, the state legislature is now considering two measures that will address the feral chicken and other wild animal concerns in Hawaii.
House Bill 2046 would allow Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) and the Department of Agriculture to collaborate on eradication.
Senate Bill 2401 would provide funding to support the city of Honolulu and other counties to more completely address the feral animals problem in Hawaii, to find a balanced solution that is crucial for both our neighborhoods and the environment.
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