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Chicken catching idea wins approval
BY TIMOTHY O'HARA
keysnews.com
KEY WEST -- From Key
West to Kentucky Fried Chicken? Well maybe not, but some could end up on
the dinner table before too long.
The city commission
agreed Tuesday night to begin negotiations with a local chicken catcher
to cut down the population of roosters and hens in town.
Longtime resident
Armando Para Sr., who owns Conch Town Barber Shop, is proposing to catch
the chickens, which will then be taken to a farm outside of Tampa. Para
will charge the city $20,000 for his services, City Manager Julio Avael
said.
Para is a longtime
island resident who has worked with chickens his entire life, City
Commissioner Harry Bethel said, although he did not elaborate on the
type of chicken business Para's family had run.
Commissioners were
firm on not taking away all the chickens, saying that they are a part of
the town's character and a draw for tourists. It is unclear how many
birds will be spared or how the others will be caught.
The island was once
home to prize-fighting cocks and their trainers. These days, the
chickens have a memorabilia store dedicated to them and chicken
paraphernalia can be bought in many Duval Street shops. They made CNN
news last weekend following reports that the commission was considering
removing chickens from city streets.
"Our goal is not to
rid the island of chickens. They are part of our island charm,"
Commissioner Carmen Turner said. "Too much of a good thing has become
too much."
"What we have is a
chicken overpopulation problem," added Commissioner Ed Scales.
City officials
estimate that roughly 2,000 chickens call the island home. Chickens are
protected under city law, which states people can't seize, molest or
tease the birds. Owners must cage their birds. The city does remove
chickens from neighborhoods and yards if residents complain.
Those chickens are
taken to a facility at Sonny McCoy Indigenous Park, where they are held
until they are transported to central Florida. The chickens there have
created a public health problem, Assistant City Manager John Jones said.
The birds' fecal matter has been known to wash into near-shore waters
and lead to beach closures, Jones said.
Dozens of people
showed up at the meeting and many spoke passionately about their love
for the chickens. Many also spoke about the benefits of having the game
birds around. The chickens feed on scorpions, cockroaches and other
bugs.
"I don't pay a penny
for bug spray," said Commissioner Merili McCoy, who has several females
chickens in her yard.
Also
Tuesday, just as the city was slated to discuss and vote on creating a
temporary homeless camp along the Bridle Path, City Attorney Bob
Tischenkel told the commission the city does not own the land or have
the authority to erect a camp there. The land is owned by the Monroe
County Land Authority.
The city manager's
office proposed creating a homeless camp there until the city and the
county can erect a permanent "safe zone" for homeless people -- a place
where they can sleep, eat and shower. The proposal was greeted with
anger by residents who live near the Bridle Path and local
environmentalists concerned about the affects on the nearby salt ponds.
The city commission
directed staff to work quickly on creating a permanent safe zone, which
is slated to be erected near the jail on Stock Island. It could take
months before portable toilets, tents and showers can be put on the jail
property. Neither the city nor the county has budgeted to staff and
maintain the facility.
Until the safe zone is
built, the city can't remove homeless people from city streets or parks.
A Florida court case set a precedent that requires cities to create
homeless safe havens before they can prevent them from sleeping and
other life-sustaining activities in public streets and parks.
In other business, the city commission also approved a deal that would
allow the Key West Botanical Gardens to expand by 7 acres. The city will
be given grant money by the state to cover roughly $3 million of the $4
million cost the county is asking for the land. |
