Question: Now that the city no longer has a contractor dealing with complaints about nuisance roosters and feral chickens, what can we do about wild chickens coming into our yard? How does one get rid of chickens that have become a nuisance at our beach house?
Answer: It’s better to try to capture the chickens than to kill them.
The Honolulu Police Department is now the agency to call to deal with such complaints, although that understandably is low on the list of priorities.
HPD advises the public to trap the feral chickens and take them to the Hawaiian Humane Society.
There, they likely will be euthanized unless someone is willing to take them.
You don’t need an animal control permit to deal with feral chickens, according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Forestry and Wildlife. Feral birds are not protected by state laws.
However, a permit may be needed depending on the method by which the feral chicken is killed, wildlife officials said. They noted that use of firearms, pesticides, etc., are subject to rules that other agencies may regulate.
The method used also may be subject to animal cruelty laws, so anyone intending to kill nuisance animals should do their research and be aware of all implications of their actions, they warned.
HPD also discourages killing the wild chickens yourself.
“Killing a chicken, by shooting or other means, poses potential safety hazards and may violate animal cruelty laws,” said HPD spokeswoman Michelle Yu.
As Oahu’s only open-admission shelter, the humane society accepts “all animals,” said spokeswoman Jacque Vaughn. However, “feral chickens are not sought after as pets and for this reason, they are euthanized.”
Vaughn said the shelter “would welcome farms, ranches and others willing to care for chickens as their own to contact us as potential homes for these animals.”
As for trapping the chickens, you’re basically on your own. The humane society doesn’t have traps to catch wild chickens for loan or purchase as it does for capturing feral cats and neither does DLNR.
The city last September, in a money-saving move, stopped offering an $80,000-a-year contract to outside sources to respond to rooster/feral chicken complaints.
Question: What happened to Jason Yotsuda, the traffic man for KSSK radio in the morning? We went on vacation for one month and when we came back, he was gone. He seems to be a very nice guy.
Answer: Yotsuda’s familiar voice reporting on traffic conditions during the peak commuter hours went silent at the end of August.
After about 15 years of broadcasting traffic conditions for KSSK, KHON and other Clear Channel stations, Yotsuda suddenly found himself off the air and out of a job in August.
He said he was let go by the general manager on Aug. 29.
However, Yotsuda already had a real estate license and is now working for Prudential Locations as an assistant property manager.
Asked if he had plans to return to broadcasting, he said, “I don’t know. I don’t miss it as much as I thought I would … but who knows what the future holds?”
Mahalo
To all who came to the aid of our 97-year-old mom who recently fell on the sidewalk on the grounds of Central Union Church. Mom was walking with her walker when her right leg just gave out, causing her to fall to the concrete sidewalk. She fractured her leg, which required emergency treatment and surgery. Three passers-by, one woman riding by on a bike, a thrift shop volunteer and a young man just passing by, as well as staff of Central Union Adult Care, quickly came to her assistance, providing words of comfort, encouragement and ice and towels to relieve her pain until paramedics arrived. To Adrienne, Anela, Brandon, Jon and those who left as quietly as they came, whose names we did not get, thank you. May God bless and keep you in his care always.
— A Grateful Family
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Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
