KEY POINTS:
Campaigners trying to stop the council from shooting the wild chickens of Albany are launching a website called chickengate.
The site - www.chickengate.co.nz - is set to go live on Monday in a bid to drum up support for keeping the chickens.
The shooting of evasive chickens by council officers on Auckland's North Shore has been called an over-the-top method of eliminating the population from a local park.
North Shore City Council staff have been going into areas around Kell Park to flush out and shoot the last of the roosters and hens that once roamed the area.
Four birds were shot this morning, eight were shot yesterday and on two earlier occasions another three were killed.
Rod Klaassen, chairman of the Albany Village Business Association, said the shooting was not necessary and inappropriate given the proximity to public carparks.
Mr Klaassen said the firing of guns had startled passersby.
"One woman nearly jumped out of her skin," he said.
In the past, when the population got out of hand, the council had arranged for the hens and roosters to be netted and trapped.
The Auckland SPCA wanted all the fowls removed as it argued they were being abused and their presence encouraged people to dump unwanted poultry in the area.
It was alleged the birds were being run over, tormented by children, ripped apart by dogs, shot by slug guns, bashed and impaled.
They were also in poor physical condition with insufficient food.
Mr Klaassen said the business association wanted to see a managed half dozen chickens kept in the area with a strong edict that no others be dumped.
It was intended that such a small population at Kell Park was appropriate given free- roaming chickens were long identified with the once rural area and a rooster featured on the village logo.
Mr Klaassen said the birds in the village had always been fed and well cared for despite reports from people to the contrary.
"None of our birds is starving or neglected ... That is a blatant manipulation of the facts."
But the council has sided with the concerns of the SPCA and wanted them all removed until an acceptable management plan could be provided showing a healthy and controlled population could be sustained there.
Warwick Robertson, council team leader for environmental protection, said more of the fast-breeding birds had been dumped in the area recently.
He said it appears some have been dumped deliberately to "upset the apple cart" but he did not have any evidence that this has happened.
"The decibel level for one rooster crowing, you'd have to be over half a k' away before it would comply with the bylaw and with lights on in the area, the birds crowed on and off all night," Mr Robertson said.
He said the birds had caused damage to flora and fauna in the area and the stench from their waste had been "immense".
Earlier attempts to trap and re-home them had only been partly successful as some people were thwarting such action and helping the birds escape.
"There's only a few left but that's not to say that more will be dumped," he said.
Mr Robertson said guns were used as a last resort to get the most evasive rooster and hens which were proving very hard to catch.
The council officers were all trained in the use of firearms, and police officers were also on hand to allay any public concerns about the shootings.
"Unfortunately we have to go and do the cowboy thing which we don't like doing, none of my like doing that. Hopefully we get the message out to genuine public, who have been dumping birds, don't do it or your bird will be shot," Mr Robertson said.
The issue goes before council politicians on Monday.
The campaign has featured on nzherald.co.nz's your views section with many chicken supporters writing in to voice their opposition.
Margaret from Matakana wrote: "Shameful and barbaric! The chickens could easily have been re-homed. I can't believe how small minded some people are."
Her sentiment was supported by Richard: "The Council's actions represent the more sadistic aspect of our species. These beautiful birds had been in this area for many years, they had added to its atmosphere and had some trust in the humans that visited it."
But there were also some who disagreed, such as Jon from Waiheke: "Jeez people, they're chickens! They are not homeless migrants or something."
- With NZHERALD STAFF
