HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0765.036 2016-201803;0 01F HAA
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Written testimony from Stafford and Nancy Lombard, residents of Hawaiian
Paradise Park, concerning an ordinance amending chapter 25, article 1, and article
5, division 5, and division 8, Hawaii county code 1983 (2016 edition, as
amended), relating to rooster farms.
Imagine this: You are sleeping peacefully in your own bed. It's a fairly typical Hilo -side night,
some clouds, some clearing. During one of those clearing times, the moon comes out and casts
its light on your home and homes near you. And all hell breaks loose because the 48 roosters
who live next door to you think it's morning and begin to crow, first one, then another, and in a
short time, all of them.
So much for your peaceful sleep, this night and every other night of your life. Because it's not
only the moon that incites a rooster riot, it can be the pet rooster down the street who calls out
and begins a "conversation" with your 48 neighbors. It can be a vehicle speeding down your
street that awakens the rooster nearest to the road, who, in turn calls to his neighbor, who calls
to his neighbor until all 48 are involved. Or it can be the owner returning late at night with
caged animals who, presumably, survived the night's fights.
You try to block out the screeching with ear plugs but the sound is piercing and the ear plugs do
not block it. You buy a sound machine — in fact, you buy one for each bedroom; the white noise
helps a bit. You can't open your windows at night to take advantage of the cooling breeze so
you buy air conditioners.
All because the people who own these animals appear to think that the law that makes cock-
fighting illegal does not apply to them. And that what these animals are purchased, groomed,
outfitted with sharp blades on their legs, and taught to do — kill each other in bloody fights
where the owners and spectators bet on which animal will win.
Some people believe that this barbaric "sport" is justified because it is a cultural tradition. To
quote the Humane Society of the United States in its fact sheet on cock fighting:
"While it is true that cockfighting has been practiced for centuries in various countries,
including the United States, "old" does not necessarily mean right or even acceptable. At one
time the United States allowed slavery, lacked child abuse laws, and refused women the right
to vote."
We may not be able, at this level of government, to change the laws that do nothing more than
slap the hands of the participants in this bloody "sport," but we certainly can and should make
it difficult for those who "farm" these poor animals to disturb the peace in their neighborhoods
by passing the bill requiring that roosters be tethered a minimum of 75 feet from the lot lines.
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