Key West Barber to Trim Chicken Population
KEY WEST, Fla. (Reuters) - In the latest of battles against the strutting, free-roaming population of *****, hens and chicks, city officials in Florida's southernmost city are hiring a local barber to catch and curb the feathered fowl.
Key West's city commission agreed on Tuesday night to pay up to $20,000 to hire Key West native Armando Para to capture the cluckers and haul them out of town, likely to a farm in Brooksville, Florida, north of Tampa.
"There's some places chickens shouldn't be," Para said on Wednesday, pledging to follow the city's orders when his contract is finalized in late January.
Assistant City Manager John Jones estimates Key West has 1,500 to 2,000 chickens roaming the free-spirited 2-mile-by-4-mile island, one of Florida's most popular tourist destinations.
Jones envisions a reduced population of 1,000 to quiet the complaints of bleary-eyed residents -- many who work nights and are awakened by crowing creatures.
The chickens -- a presence in Key West since the early 1900s, when cockfighting was popular in the rowdy fishing village -- also are a nuisance to the island's newer breed.
Tom Hambright, Monroe County's historian, said the chicken population has exploded within the last decade. "In the 1970s, we had a lot of street people and a lot of the chickens disappeared into pots." he said.
Katha Sheehan, known around town as the "chicken lady" and owner of a popular memorabilia store dedicated to chickens, ran for mayor in October, but wasn't elected. Presenting city leaders with 4,700 signatures from people favoring chickens, she urged creation of a chicken park.
"We ask that you hold them dear," she said. "We can't export our problems."
KEY WEST, Fla. (Reuters) - In the latest of battles against the strutting, free-roaming population of *****, hens and chicks, city officials in Florida's southernmost city are hiring a local barber to catch and curb the feathered fowl.
Key West's city commission agreed on Tuesday night to pay up to $20,000 to hire Key West native Armando Para to capture the cluckers and haul them out of town, likely to a farm in Brooksville, Florida, north of Tampa.
"There's some places chickens shouldn't be," Para said on Wednesday, pledging to follow the city's orders when his contract is finalized in late January.
Assistant City Manager John Jones estimates Key West has 1,500 to 2,000 chickens roaming the free-spirited 2-mile-by-4-mile island, one of Florida's most popular tourist destinations.
Jones envisions a reduced population of 1,000 to quiet the complaints of bleary-eyed residents -- many who work nights and are awakened by crowing creatures.
The chickens -- a presence in Key West since the early 1900s, when cockfighting was popular in the rowdy fishing village -- also are a nuisance to the island's newer breed.
Tom Hambright, Monroe County's historian, said the chicken population has exploded within the last decade. "In the 1970s, we had a lot of street people and a lot of the chickens disappeared into pots." he said.
Katha Sheehan, known around town as the "chicken lady" and owner of a popular memorabilia store dedicated to chickens, ran for mayor in October, but wasn't elected. Presenting city leaders with 4,700 signatures from people favoring chickens, she urged creation of a chicken park.
"We ask that you hold them dear," she said. "We can't export our problems."
