Authorities in Key West, Florida, want to ban people from feeding stray chickens that roam the resort town and leave traces of their life in abundance, reports the Associated Press. The ruling, unanimously approved on first reading, states that wild chickens in Florida can “carry and spread disease, destroy property, and leave abundant deposits of faeces on state property.”
According to the Miami Herald, people who feed the birds that roam the city will be fined $ 250 a day for the first offense and $ 500 a day for repeat offenders.
These chickens find food with ease. Tourists feed them popcorn or French fries, and some locals buy huge bags of bird food for them.
The birds are having a feast, says City Commissioner Clayton Lopez, who sponsored the ban. Patricia Ebles, Assistant Attorney for Monroe County, said her neighbor feeds stray chickens several times a day, leaving droppings on stairs, handrails, cars and other surfaces. “We, as neighbors, did everything we could to get her to stop doing this,” Ables said.
As Tom Sweets, executive director of the Key West Wildlife Center told the Miami Herald, the city’s wild chickens don’t need help finding food: “There’s nothing worse for chickens than feeding them. I’ve never seen a skinny chicken on Key West unless it’s sick or injured. This is really unnecessary. They are quite capable of taking care of themselves. “
Newspaper headline:
It is forbidden to feed stray chickens