Key West chickens, feral cats, black-tailed jackrabbits, monitor lizards and now, chickens again – in Central Florida.

Though maybe not as alarming as feral cats in Key Largo, black-tailed jackrabbits at Miami International Airport or Nile monitor lizards in Cape Coral, Bartow’s rising population of stray chickens has become a concern for residents.

The chickens, mostly escapees from captive flocks, have been known to dig up yards, fight in the streets and sometimes scratch cars. The roosters are even more annoying, constantly crowing before dawn. 

Now the rural town about 30 miles east of Tampa is trying to deal with the problem. 

City commissioners have ordered a revision to a 1922 bird sanctuary ordinance that makes it illegal to kill, capture or even "annoy" any feathered friends. Key West has an ordinance, too, that protects chickens.

In Bartow, they want to remove chickens from the ordinance and let them be captured in the same way the county picks up stray dogs and cats – much like Key West’s chicken roundup, which had the southernmost fowl caught and shipped to the mainland.

"We’re going to catch them and move them somewhere or give them to somebody who wants them," Bartow City Manager Joe DeLegge said. 

The ordinance revision also would let residents capture chickens on their property, DeLegge said. It won’t be too soon for DeLegge. 

"Can you imagine managing a $53 million budget and I’ve got to worry about picking up chickens?" DeLegge asked. 

Bartow’s chickens add to a growing list of animal problems around the state:  The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission cracked down on feral-cat colonies in May, instituting a new policy that could result in the animals being killed if they threaten native wildlife. Key Largo is one of the top locations where feral cat populations are threatening endangered or imperiled species.

Federal sharpshooters killed 35 western black-tailed jackrabbits at Miami International Airport earlier this month because the animals were deemed a danger to planes because their carcasses attract buzzards. 

Biologists from the University of Tampa have set out to trap Nile monitor lizards in Cape Coral, which has a possible population in the thousands of the huge, carnivorous reptiles.

Two more sentinel chickens tested positive for the West Nile virus in Martin County on Friday, health officials said. 

One chicken from the Indiantown flock and one from the flock in Clementsville contracted the virus, which is spread by mosquitoes that bite other positive birds. 

In St. Lucie County, there were no new positive chickens this week, said Jim David, director of the county's mosquito control district. 

Gene Lemire, director of Martin County's mosquito control, said trucks spraying pesticides are out every night, and efforts are being focused in the western part of the county to minimize any spreading of the virus. 

Health officials suggest Treasure Coast residents follow proper precautions to avoid mosquito bites, including wearing long sleeves and pants, not wearing cologne or perfume and use mosquito repellent containing DEET. 

WASHINGTON- Poultry farmers in southwestern states that suffered an outbreak of a highly infectious bird disease can start shipping their birds again.

Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said Monday that her department was lifting poultry quarantines in Arizona, Nevada, Texas and parts of California because federal and state officials have eradicated an outbreak of Exotic Newcastle, a bird disease that infected several egg-laying flocks.

However, the quarantine remains in effect for parts of San Diego County, Calif., where the disease remains prevalent, department officials said.  The disease paralyzes and kills birds, but it poses no threat to humans.

The outbreak was first found in egg-laying flocks in California last November. As the disease spread eastward, the department imposed quarantines prohibiting farmers in the affected areas from shipping poultry.

Officials believe farm workers that keep cockfighting roosters infected with Exotic Newcastle spread it to egg farms. The infection can be carried on people's clothing and shoes.

The federal government spent $11.5 million from October to May to destroy 144,000 birds characterized as game fowl.