Now it's official: chickens running at large in the city of Bartow are no longer a beloved protected species; they are now domestic fowl non grata, subject to deportation.  But it could be a better life for which they're headed.
They're as likely to end up as show birds or 4-H Club projects as a source of protein in chicken and yellow rice.

In response to weeks of complaints to the code enforcement board by citizens who are tired of chickens that create a nuisance by digging up flowers, fighting, crowing, and generally getting on the nerves of people, the city commission passed on final reading an ordinance removing chickens from the protection of Bartow's bird sanctuary ordinance, and allowing for their removal from the city.

While the city code already required chickens to be kept on their owners' property, the bird sanctuary ordinance prohibited the city or anybody else from trapping, chasing, or otherwise annoying chickens.

Commissioners voted unanimously to pass the ordinance, which removes "domestic fowl" from the protections of the bird sanctuary ordinance, and allows Bartowans to ask the city to have them removed if they stray from their owners' property.

The new ordinance allows citizens to "detain in a humane manner" chickens on their property, or to ask the city manager in writing to impound and remove the chickens.

If not claimed by the owners within three days, the chickens are subject to removal "to a location outside the city."  Commissioner Gail Schreiber said that the city "will do the proper thing with them, not just drop them on the roadway."

Mr. and Mrs. Doug Tolbert of Polk City, who previously had discussed their proposal with City Mgr. Joseph J. DeLegge, said they would capture and remove the chickens for free.

Mrs. Tolbert said they would have the chickens examined and treated for disease, and would either breed them, sell them, show them, or give them to 4-H Club members.

"We will find homes for them," she said. "We will give them a home and get them off the street. We are not amateurs.  We do have beautiful chickens here," Mayor Pat Huff told her.

Asked how the Tolberts would go about capturing the chickens, their young son assured the city officials that he has a way of approaching chickens without alarming them, and could catch them by hand.  Mrs. Tolbert said that "giant fish nets" offer an alternative way of catching the errant chickens.

[Sounds to us like somebody found a way to get some FREE chickens at their real owners' expense... -Rockingt]

Farmers in a Chilean village are reportedly blaming vampires or aliens for the deaths of 40 chickens.  According to El Diario Austral newspaper, the chickens were found dead with their insides scattered all over their owner's backyard in Perquenco.

Juana Raasch, owner of the farm, said: "It was a horrible scene. But the strangest thing was that there was no trace of any other animal that could have done it.

"I have owned this farm for seven years and I have never seen anything like that.  I would know if it were the work of a pig, dog, wolf or cat. What happened here was out of this world."

Police sent to the farm were puzzled by the fact that there was no evidence of an intruder, either animal or human.  A spokesman said: "It seems silly to talk about vampires and aliens, but you never know around here.

"This farm is well protected with lots of wires and fences, I don't see how an animal could have come in here. This is not the first time something bizarre like that has happened around here, and we have never come up with a normal explanation."

An Italian tourist has been arrested after taking his pet chicken for a walk in a Dutch town

The man inadvertently breached a strict ban across Holland and Belgium on letting chickens go free to control a killer poultry virus.  Residents of Ijmuiden reported the man to the police, who initially thought they were the victims of a practical joke.

A police spokesman told De Morgen: "Neighbours told us they saw a man walking his chicken in the middle of the street. But when the police arrived they found it was all true."  Police arrested the man and confiscated his chicken, which was later killed - despite the Italian's protests.

The man, who told police he was touring Europe with his pet chicken, did not believe the police and complained to the Italian embassy in Amsterdam.

Outbreaks of the poultry virus have been reported in farms across Holland and Belgium, and the strain has now jumped to humans, infecting more than 80 people and killing one vet.

Millions of chickens have been killed of behalf of the governments of both countries in order to stop the disease from spreading.