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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0872.003 2010-2012 rage 1 of 2 «Back Pesky Poultry Irritate Some Kauai Visitors and Residents Recommend Sign Up to see what your friends recommend. By Diane Ako . LIHUE, KAUAI (KHNL)-It's a foul problem that's ruffling the feathers of some on the Garden Isle: roosters and chickens.And lots of them. What's a sleepless person to do? Visitor Kyle Kirschbaum flew in from Alaska and the first thing he noticed was crowing day and night on Kauai. "We've been to all the other islands and the first thing we noticed when we got here was the chickens." Chickens at church, at the cemetery, and tempting fate by r dawdling around Burger King. Apparently,this chicken wants to I have it her way. Kirschbaum sighs, It could be every 5 minutes you might have a rooster.You can't take naps.You can't hang out. You're always hearing a rooster, you know, roostering. Or cock a doodling." +:. These feathered friends annoy enough people that the county , council hears about it regularly. Councilman Mel Rapozo says, "We've heard it all. I've heard a request we pass legislation to ban chickens. Suggestions to offer a bounty for anyone who can bring in dead chickens, and the county can pay a price. Working with the community college culinary arts students to provide them all the chickens." " - r`' Turning citizens into banty bounty hunters? "We could do, like, a ' Hunt Chicken Day,"shrugs Kirschbaum. Rapozo says the ideas won't take flight. "Sometimes I get offended when newcomers tell me we need to get rid of the chickens because I think the chickens have a place here in our Kyle Kirschbaum culture." Critics find that eggsasperating. "If one of the roosters had the , bird flu it'd only be a matter of time before you had it because there are so many roosters on the island,"speculates . Kirschbaum. -' 4_,-- �,a --- culture But for now local lawmakers say to get used to it "It's part of this culture and we just gotta learn to live with it I am not planning to 'v do anything to legislate chickens away." 4 ,if Councilman Mel Rapozo Dr. Becky Rhoads of the Kauai Humane Society says, "I have no idea how many feral chickens are on Kauai. I would be surprised if anyone knows. For the past two years we have been offering humane live traps for folks to capture and remove nuisance G Z, chickens from their property. This is very similar to the feral cat Comm. No. 0 ___3 humane trapping programs on most of the islands with humane Ref. To: � L societies. We offer this program to offer a humane alternative to Ref. Date OCT 1 6 2012 http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/6170510/pesky-poultry-i rritate-some-kauai-visitor... 10/15/2012 rage'2 ot•2 control nuisances caused by chickens. We don't want people to cruelly control nuisance chickens by shooting, poisoning, etc. }• Folks pay a $25 deposit and get to use the trap for two weeks at a . time. When the trap comes back, they get the deposit back. Most feral chickens brought to KHS are euthanized as they are feral x game fowl, not adoptable as pets. Occasionally we receive «' • commercial laying hens caught in traps which are adopted out to 4a farm homes. I know of no successful way to keep a rooster quiet t ' so no,we don't have any tips for keeping them quiet." The State Department of Land and Natural Resources monitors avian flu in feral chickens. Megan Laut in the Division of Forestry and Wildlife is on the inter-agency working group for avian influenza planning and response. She says, "DOFAW has been collaborating with USFWS and USDA-Wildlife Services to sample wild birds for avian influenza since late August 2006. Both federal agencies have regional or national plans that outline the methods to sample birds, the number of samples required, and which species of birds to sample. All of the samples are tracked and reported on a national database.At a national level,these federal agencies do not recognize feral chickens as wild birds, but we worked with our local partners to incorporate them into our sampling program.We have sampled live birds, and the public is encouraged to report dead feral chickens to the 211 hotline,whereby members from the Invasive Species Committee pick up the bird(s) and send them to the lab for sampling.Avian influenza has NOT been detected in Hawaii, and if it did enter the state,we would work to contain it." Stott Real Estate, Oahu Comprehensive Real Estate Solutions For Home Sellers and Home Ravers W ww.stottcom All content©Copyright 2000-2012 World Now and KHNL, a Raycom Media Station. All Rights Reserved. For more information on this site,please read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/6170510/pesky-poultry-irritate-some-kauai-visitor... 10/15/2012 ra 1 01 1 Days Hours Minutes So=oncis 350 05 11 4.5 !c(J1O takes etccton Oct.l,2iJl3e CG!adrey Wilt your organization be ready? Assurance•Tax•Consulting F pettenr-e the power ruf being urJerstu, 1°", Dow Jones Reprints This copy is for your personal,non-commercial use only To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues,clients or customers, use the Order Reprints tool at the bottom of any article or omit www.djrepdnts.com See a sample reprint in PDF format. Order a reprint of this article now THE WALL STREET JOURNAL THE A-HED I April 2, 2009 Tourists Learn Who Rules the Roost On This Lush Hawaiian Isle Kauai's Feral Former Fighting Cocks Roam Freely and Crow Loudly at All Hours By ANN ZIMMERMAN Kauai,the oldest of the Hawaiian islands,is called the garden isle for its lush vegetation.Now people are calling it the chicken isle because it is overrun by roosters, hens and little chicks. Most of the birds are believed to be descendants of former fighting cocks unleashed during a devastating hurricane more than a decade ago.The birds now forage at outdoor food courts and ruin sugar cane and corn crops.They wake islanders--and tourists--with predawn crowing. Last fall, Bob Brenner,a retiree from Austin,Texas,spent a week's vacation visiting a son who lives on the island.He returned home in need of some peace and quiet."Those darn roosters had me up before 5 every morning,"he says."If I had a gun, I would have shot a couple of them.They are all over the place.They walk right into the restaurants." ' Other Hawaiian islands have feral chickens,too,but ", _ ,.;4t „ _ Kauai's problem is worse because it is the only island in - °t. ' the chain that lacks mongooses,the natural enemy of wild chickens. Mongooses were imported to the Hawaiian islands in the late i800s to kill rats in the sugar-cane fields. Local legend has it that a mongoose bit the hand of a Kauai dockworker,who knocked the entire crate of the critters into the bay,and no more were Kauai,the oldest Hawaiian island,has one local attraction not likely advertised to tourists:it is becoming imported.That's good news for rare bird species if overrun by wild roosters.Ann Zimmerman reports. nobody else. Sue Kanoho,executive director of the Kauai Visitors Bureau,fields her share of angry calls from tourists annoyed by the incessant crowing. But eradication is stymied by island residents'love-hate relationship with the birds.Ms. Kanoho poses the dilemma:"What if you accidentally killed someone's pet that went out for a walk?" Some were poisoning the birds and shooting them until the Kauai Humane Society cried foul several years ago after getting calls about maimed animals.The society recently disbanded an effort to persuade residents to trap them so they could be euthanized.The program hadn't put much of a dent in the population. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123863006121980573.html 10/15/2012 i agc i vi <<Back MOlfll' Feral Chicken Problem Invades Oahu Recommend Sign up to see what your friends recommend. By Diane Ako } KAHALUU (KHNL)-More and more people across Oahu are complaining they can't get a good night's rest. It's because there is a growing problem of wild chickens and roosters on this island. Kaneohe resident Warren Williams learns to use a 4-foot wire chicken trap today for the first time. "There are over 55 chickens that live in these hills," he says, as a rooster crows in the background for added effect. He says wild poultry do not make good neighbors. "Starting 10:30 v,�9 �, at night they just start cackling and cackling and cackling. You '' 1 wake up in the morning and your eyes have bags because you re , tired." He's had many sleepless months. "If I could choke those chickens, I'd be there in a heartbeat!" That's where the Hawaii Game Breeders Association (HGBA) comes in. It has a $40,500 city contract to catch pesky poultry and solve disputes between rooster owners and their neighbors by teaching people how to keep the birds quiet. If you call them, they'll loan you the cages and teach you how to catch the birds. When you collect enough chickens,they'll pick them up. Birds caught healthy are given away to people who are interested in eating the organic, free range chickens. Chickens that look ill are taken to the state Department of Agriculture to be tested for d avian influenza and Exotic Newcastle disease. HGBA's contract expires July 31, 2007 and they don't think they'll Warren Williams re-bid. "There's other things they added besides chickens, like ducks, exotic birds and peacocks. We don't have places to put Z those animals, like the peacocks. Even the zoo won't take them," explains co-owner Pat Royos, who works with husband Jose ! Royos. They are partnered with another couple, Joe and Bernie Panoncial. Plus, they say the chicken problem takes up all their time. Last year, HGBA got 1,600 calls. Now many of the complaints are increasingly coming from suburban and urban areas. Royos says, • . V "Too many chickens are all over; it's from Hawaii Kai to Waianae to Waialua."HGBA says it has caught 4,000 chickens since it started in 2004. It estimates there are about 20,000 more pesky poultry running loose on Oahu. "The amount of monies proposed for FY 08 is $60,000,"says Dennis Kamimura, administrator for the city Division of Motor Vehicles and Licensing. "Our intention is to go out for bid when http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/6273414/feral-chicken-problem-invades-oahu?cl ie... 10/15/2012 rage z or z the current contract ends on July 31, 2007. Rather than limiting ;, the contract to crowing rooster and feral chickens on private fi ,t property, I intend to expand the scope of the contract by using the term"fowls" instead of rooster and chickens." , " .�' Hawaii Humane Society and Honolulu Police used to handle G. : ,, - nuisance calls about barking dogs and crowing chickens, but no "x ±= � longer do. HGBA is one of the few Oahu services that will catch + `; ° chickens. Residents worry that nobody else will step in to fill the ' gap. GOT A FERAL FOWL PROBLEM? Call Hawaii Game Breeders Association at 239-9611. HOW TO KEEP YOUR ROOSTERS QUIET: -Black out the bird's cage at night -Put a muzzle and collar on the bird -Put a hood or a sock with a hole over the bird's head, and cut out space for the beak and nose -Soundproof your pens -Lower the ceiling of the coop after the bird gets on his perch for the night The city's Animal Nuisance Law requires rooster owners to keep the animals quiet from 10 p.m.to 6 a.m. If the problem persists,the association turns the matter over to police. Violators face penalties ranging from$25 to$500 and a court appearance. Honolulu Flights Sale: Fly from $336 L ^^ti- - Major Airlines have launched sale fares for flights to Honolulu_ Sales end soon. Av."-„' - Learn More as Source:Traveizoo All content©Copyright 2000-2012 WorldNow and KHNL, a Raycom Media Station. = All Rights Reserved. For more information on this site,please read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/6273414/feral-chicken-problem-invades-oahu?c1ie... 10/15/2012