To: People of Hawaii
Stop the Slaughter
The recent bills passed, HB2561 and HB1852, feral chickens may now be killed on private property, being deemed as pests. This is an unnecessary loss of life. All to protect the fragile environment of Hawaii, when the feral chickens have been a part of that ecosystem for decades and are the least of its problems. Chickens have been seen to help reduce the number of pests in the area, eating mice (it’s not a pretty sight), mosquitoes (which are one of the main causes of native species retreat, as they often carry avian malaria and bird pox), as well as many other invasive insects that are harmful to native plant species. Plus, some of these “feral chickens” are Gallus Gallus, otherwise known as Red Jungle Fowl, and can be seen as cultural value, being brought over by the first settlers/Polynesians. Though, it can be hard to distinguish between Gallus Gallus and Gallus Gallus Domesticus, which is the descendant of Gallus Gallus. So, in killing them, you are potentially killing a part of Hawaii’s history if you miss identify them. This is why we need to remove the bill, stop the unnecessary slaughter of all the chickens that are a significant part of Hawaii’s history and focus on other more important matters to stop the decline of native species in Hawaii, much like focusing on the feral cats that have already caused the extinction of six bird species here in Hawaii.
Why is this important?
This is unnecessary slaughter of animals that have been a part of Hawaii’s history and culture from the beginning. The claims of them spreading Avian Influenza are not as valid as many think, as for the chickens to get the virus, the have to have gotten it from somewhere else, which is another source of contamination. The avian influenza actually severely affected the chicken populations just as it did native species of Hawaii. Also, chickens help reduce diseases that are killing many native birds by killing the source of which they come from. This would be mosquitoes, carrying Avian Malaria and Avian pox. They also reduce the number of pests/insects that harm native plants. The chickens aren’t the problem here, but cats and mongooses certainly are a larger concern.