[ SHOWGSD-L ] FLORIDA- ARMED FIREFIGHTERS KILL CHICKENS
- From: RihadinK9@xxxxxxx
- To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 13 Feb 2006 16:05:42 EST
Geesh... they ever heard of herding dogs??
From the High Springs Herald (Florida)
<_http://www.highspringsherald.com/articles/2006/02/09/news/news01.txt_
(http://www.highspringsherald.com/articles/2006/02/09/news/news01.txt) >
Uproar over armed firefighters killing chickens by homes
By Christa Jenkins
Herald Writer
HIGH SPRINGS â?? After seeing High Springs firefighters toting rifles through
a neighborhood and shooting at chickens last week, residents said they are
infuriated.
The southwest sector of town between Southwest Fourth Avenue and Poe Springs
Road has had a chicken problem for years.
Many residents said they were upset not that the chickens were killed but
the manner in which the situation was handled last Wednesday, Feb. 1.
Residents said they were not notified that the shooting would happen, that
they worried about the safety of their children and pets, and that
firefighters ran through private property without permission.
When the shooting was over, residents said they were left to deal with
injured chickens and a bloody mess.
City officials, however, said that multiple safety precautions were taken,
including having the cityâ??s police chief on the scene with a safety
perimeter
in place.
The Animal that Defied ClassificationStarting about two years ago, the city
began to receive complaints from residents living in the southwest area of
town between Southwest Fourth Avenue
and Poe Springs Road, said City Manager Jim Drumm, himself a previous
resident of the area.
At that time, as many as 50 wild chickens that nested in the woods
surrounding the area had begun to leave the woods and cause trouble for
residents.Roosters crowed at street lights at all hours of the night. Hens
tore up yards
and left feces in them for residents to step in. The fowl stood in the streets
and upheld traffic.
When the cars in the neighborhood were parked, the chickens flew atop them
to roost and left scratches.Some residents even complained that they were
afraid to leave their homes
because the roosters were aggressive and chased people.
It was a mess for the growing city, Drumm said.
After receiving numerous complaints, city officials attempted to gain the
help
of Alachua County Animal Control but were declined because the organization
only
handles domestic animals and pets.
Since the chickens were wild, Animal Control would not help, Drumm said.
So officials went to the Florida Wildlife Commission instead, but that
government agency labels chickens as farm animals and refused to help, Drumm
said.
â??These animals sometimes fall through the cracks of what anybody can do,â??
Drumm
said.
With complaints still coming in, officials decided to take action
themselves.Code enforcement officials were first enlisted to capture the
animals, but
the chickensâ?? speed and ability to fly made attempts nearly impossible.
Officials asked for agile teenagers to volunteer to capture the chickens,
and one boy did succeed in capturing a couple, but it was still a limited
success.
â??They are wild animals, and they are very good at escaping and flying,â??
Drumm said.Traps with high quality feed inside them were put out to lure in
the
chickens, but after a hen was captured, roosters started to guard the traps
and keep chickens away from them, Drumm said.
Officials put alcohol in the birdsâ?? food to try to slow them down, but that
didnâ??t work either, Drumm said.
While officials considered the option of using other types of drugs or
chemicals in a similar manner, they worried about the possible effects it
might
have on pets in the area.
Officials tried to get more ideas by speaking with other city officials and
police officers who had similar problems.
Residents were asked if they owned the chickens, but no one said they
did.While no one claimed the chickens as their own, residents often take in
chickens during the daytime, Drumm said.
Nearly a year after first attempts to solve the problem, officials were
running out of options, and residents were getting impatient, Drumm said.The
chickens would have to be shot, Drumm said.
â??We actually tried many avenues to capture them,â?? Drumm said. â??It was
our
last option to consider shooting them.â??
The Cityâ??s Last Option
It was the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 1 that Janet Lashells, a friend of
David Smart, who resides on Southwest 2nd Place, was horrified to see
firefighters running through yards and shooting the chickens.
â??Those chickens in the neighborhood never bothered us,â?? she said.
A barn close to the area is home to a group of wild kittens that Lashells
and
Smart feed, Smart said.
The food inadvertently attracts many chickens to enter the barn, and Smart
thinks this would have been a better way to go about catching the chickens,
he said.
â??I realize that they had to do something, but I think they could have
handled it
differently,â?? he said.
According to Smart, there were between 50 and 75 chickens in the area
previous to the shooting, and he has seen very few since then.
â??It sounded like a war zone over there,â?? he said. â??It was pretty bad.â??
Some residents said they were angry that they were not notified beforehand
that officials would be shooting guns in the neighborhood.Jenni Callahan, a
resident on Seventh Avenue, said she wishes she was warned about the shooting
so she would know to keep pets inside.
She witnessed the events while on her lunch break and later returned home to
find two shot and injured chickens taking shelter near her house, she said.
One had been shot in the leg and another in the wing, she said.
â??I just donâ??t feel people should be running around with .22s in a
neighborhood,â??
she said.
Joan Lenne, another resident of Seventh Avenue, said that firefighters ran
through her back yard without informing her first or gaining her permission.
Lashells was worried for the safety of pets in the area and any people who
happened to be outside, she said.
â??Anything that was moving, they were shooting,â?? she said. â??Thereâ??s
blood
all
over the place.â??
But many safety precautions were taken to ensure an accident-free day, Drumm
said.
Safety and Legality Issues
Officials decided to take action on a morning that school was in session,
and
most children would be at school and away from the area.
They used rifles with a small caliber specially made to not travel far, and
firefighters only made clear shots that were low to the ground to avoid
ricochet.
Firefighters were chosen over policemen because firefighters were able to
assist
without being pulled away from active duties, and they were also ready and
willing to help, Drumm said.
Those who assisted had backgrounds in hunting and handling firearms, Drumm
said.
Additionally, Police Chief Ray Kaminskas was at the site to secure the
perimeter
from people, pets and everything else not a chicken.
â??I understand the concern, but we try to make it as safe out here as
possible,â??
Kaminskas said.
This was also the reason that residents in the area were not notified
beforehand
that officials would be present to shoot the chickens, Drumm said.
Officials feared that if they announced the event, onlookers would be
present
and would be put at risk.
â??We were hoping not to have anybody in the area,â?? he said.
According to Drumm, the city employees involved attempted to stay in the
streets, which are city-owned property, by herding the chickens into those
directions.
Since the streets in the area are often very narrow, it appears that
residentsâ??
yards start at the edge of the road, when in fact the legal roadway is 60
feet wide.
Additionally, Drumm said, there were several residents who came out of their
homes and tried to assist the firefighters with directing the chickens.
In these cases, the firefighters may have entered residentsâ?? yards with
their
permission.
City code allows code enforcement actions to be carried out even on private
property, so even if the firefighters did have to enter residentsâ?? yards, it
was
still within the cityâ??s legal right to do so, Drumm said.
It was also legal to discharge the firearms within city limits, Drumm said,
because Police Chief Kaminskas had given his authority to do so, and he was
there to supervise.
The city code also allows nuisance birds that are within city limits to be
destroyed, Drumm said.
Firefighters targeted the roosters, since they seemed to be a greater part
of
the problem than the hens.
When residents began to come outside and question the firefighters,
officials
decided to quit for the day so that they wouldnâ??t endanger those people,
Drumm said.
End Results
In the end, about eight chickens were killed, and one chick was captured and
donated to the Camp Kulaqua Zoo for their childrenâ??s education program.
Additionally, firefighters located several nesting sites.
Although the problem was not completely taken care of, Drumm said, officials
can
use these nesting sites to capture more chickens in the future.
Also, since many of the roosters were killed, hens will not have many
opportunities to create future hatchlings, Drumm said.
â??They will live out their life and not move on to additional generations,â??
he said.
City officials are still seeking more alternatives with how to handle the
chicken problem.
After hearing about the events last week, a man from Gilchrist County called
officials to tell them that he has a Labrador Retriever rescued after
Hurricane
Katrina that can catch chickens without injuring them, Kaminskas said.
Officials tested the dog out on Tuesday, Feb. 7, and had positive results,
he said.
Anyone else with ideas on how to approach the chicken problem is welcome to
call, he said.
â??I just want them gone,â?? he said. â??If someone wants to come out here and
catch a
chicken, they can.â??
Problems with wild chickens in cities often begin when people move from the
country to the city and attempt to bring their chickens along, Drumm said.
But they are difficult to keep in small yards and often break free.
Other times, problems arise from parents who give their children baby chicks
for Easter. The kids then set the chickens free when they get big.
Wherever their origin, the wild chickens that still roam free in the area
seem to have evaded defeat once again.
â??Weâ??ve been listening to roosters for over a year,â?? said Joyce
LaCagnina, a
resident of the area. â??And theyâ??re still crowing.â??
Ginger Cleary, Rome, GA
"You should not examine legislation in the light of the benefits it will
convey if properly administered, but in the light of the wrongs it would do
and
the harm it would cause if improperly administered." Lyndon Johnson, 36th
President of the U.S.
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