Fall 2015 Poultry Press NEXT
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Stop Gassing the Birds! Attention: Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell

Please contact Honolulu Mayor, Kirk Caldwell, and urge that his administration stop trapping and gassing to death the feral (free-living) chickens in Honolulu. There is nothing “humane” about gassing these birds with carbon dioxide. It burns their eyes, nose, throat, and lungs, while very slowly, and painfully, suffocating them to death. When the birds don’t die, they get thrown back into the gas chamber for even more suffering.

For decades, the City and County of Honolulu have used hunters, trappers, exterminators, and others to trap and kill the feral chickens, even though they are well aware that rounding up and killing them is futile. In fact, it causes the chickens to spread out and establish themselves in even more new areas. By contrast, Honolulu officials know that putting Ovo Control birth control in the birds’ feed works to control the population without harming the birds.

What Can I Do?

Urge Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell to use birth control instead of trapping and gassing the free-roaming chickens. Tell him that you are sad and outraged that his administration would trap and torture these birds to death, especially when contraception is the only humane and effective way to reduce the feral chicken population. Request a written response to your concerns.

Contact:

Mayor Kirk Caldwell
530 South King Street, Room 300
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
Phone: (808) 768-4141 Fax: (808) 768-5552
Email: Mayor@honolulu.gov
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mayorkirkhnl
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MayorKirk


Asphyxiation cruel to chickens
Honolulu Star-Advertiser

LETTER TO THE EDITOR, by Karen Davis, July 15, 2015

Animal Haven president Frank DeGiacomo calls killing the chickens on Oahu with carbon dioxide (CO2) inhumane (“Initiative targets feral fowl overrunning city facilities,” Honolulu Star-Advertiser, July 11). He’s right. That this method meets American Veterinary Medical Association guidelines means nothing. CO2 is used to kill animals because it’s cheap. Since “euthanasia” means a merciful death, the term does not apply to CO2 asphyxiation of chickens in a lethal chamber.

CO2 activates brain regions in birds that activate pain perception. Chickens’ chemical receptors are extremely sensitive to CO2, causing them to breathe rapidly and deeply to expel the poisonous gas. Sadly, this only increases their intake, and their death is protracted and cruel.

DeGiacomo urges the city to use Ovo Control, a contraceptive he says would reduce the number of chickens on Oahu. If a truly humane method of controlling the chicken population exists, it should be used instead of subjecting these birds to a horrible death.

Karen Davis
President, United Poultry Concerns Machipongo, Va.

chicken family everglades
A feral chicken family in the Florida Everglades.
Photo by Davida G. Breier
Fall 2015 Poultry Press NEXT