Fla. City Sends Chickens Packing
- Share via
KEY WEST, Fla. — In the latest battle against the strutting, free-roaming population of cocks, hens and chicks, officials in Florida’s southernmost city are hiring a local barber to catch and curb the feathered fowl.
Key West’s city commission agreed Tuesday to pay as much as $20,000 to hire Key West native Armando Para to capture the birds and haul them out of town, probably to a farm in Brooksville, Fla., north of Tampa.
“There’s some places chickens shouldn’t be,” Para said.
Assistant City Manager John Jones estimated Key West has 1,500 to 2,000 chickens roaming the 2-by-4-mile island.
Jones envisions a reduced population of 1,000 birds to quiet the complaints of bleary-eyed residents -- many of whom work nights and are awakened by crowing roosters.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
