US State goes to war with feral chickens running wild, pooing and winning

A whole community is being terrorised by thousands of aggressive feral chickens.

The clucking pests have been running amok on the Hawaiian island of Oahu now for months and are defecating everywhere.

In response, the Hawaii State Legislature has more or less declared war on the problematic poultry, but it is the animals that seem to be winning.

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They have largely thwarted attempts to trap or catch them and local authorities have, as yet, been unable to curb the growing chicken population.

The Hawaii State Legislature attempted during the early part of this year to devise a five-year, state-funded programme to eradicate the cluckers.

But as yet an agreement has not been reached in terms of how they will be "eradicated".

"We want to be humane," State Senator Bennette Misalucha told Hawaiian television station KHON2 in February. "We were very mindful about that.

"But at the same time, this is really, you know, a road hazard, a health hazard, and we need to take care of all of our communities."

The state legislature has still not been passed the programme and in March, the City of Honolulu decided it would take control of the matter by installing five sets of traps in different parts of the island.

But two months later officials learned that only 67 chickens had been caught in an operation that has cost just under £6,000 or around £90 per "eradicated" bird.

Authorities on Oahu subsequently hoped that putting signs up to remind locals not to feed the chickens might get on top of the situation

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One resident who has had enough is Majid Joneidi, who complained: “We have an over-population on every street, roaming, foraging, creating serious property damage.

"Many of us work long hours, even double shifts, and to not be able to sleep in due to the cackling and crowing of the feral roosters and chickens has really been an unfair burden and hardship."

Another local, Murdoch Ortiz, objects strongly to the mess they create, saying: "The feral fowl are dirty and drop their waste, with strong smells, all over the walkways, driveways, and street area. 

"I’ve seen them on top of the garbage cans of adjacent properties creating havoc and damage as they tear open trash bags and scatter the trash all over."

The reason for such prolific numbers of chickens on the island is unknown, but there are theories, with one suggesting it has been caused by domesticated birds escaping from their owners' homes and then procreating.

Another popular opinion is that the hurricanes of Iwa and Iniki, which struck Hawaii in 1982 and 1992 respectively, led to the wreckage of many chicken coops and freed the birds to return into the wild.

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