Djou clamors again for ban on noisy roosters in town

East Honolulu Councilman Charles Djou has re-hatched his proposed ban on chickens, including noisy roosters, in urban Honolulu.

Djou introduced Bill 49 last week to prohibit chickens in residential-, resort- and apartment-zoned areas between Pearl City and Hawaii Kai including Waikiki.

"I'm getting a lot of complaints from my constituents, and they want something done about it," he said. "They want a vehicle to silence these roosters."

Djou said that in the four years since he introduced similar legislation, promises by the game fowl community that it would work to minimize the noisy rooster problem have not materialized. That is why he introduced the legislation again.

"Because of all these representations, the problem was supposed to get better, was supposed to be eradicated because of self-policing. We've given it four years now, and I don't see the problem getting significantly better, because I'm getting the same complaints," Djou said.

An example of that, he said, is the proliferation of feral chickens in recent months in Hawaii Kai, where a pest-control company caught more than 100 around the Hawaii Kai Park and Ride in March.

But a spokeswoman with the Hawaii Game Breeders Association said the organization and those who raise chickens and roosters will oppose the bill if a hearing is held, because a ban in urban Oahu would open the door to similar restrictions in rural parts of the island.

"It would open a can of worms because then they would want to continue it," said Pat Royos, first vice president of the association. "I know the people are not going to just sit down -- they are still going to rise up."

Royos disagreed with Djou's contention that her organization, which has had a $40,000 contract with the city to trap wild chickens and educate owners on how to quiet their birds, has not done its part to address the problem.

"I guess Djou is not satisfied because this thing came up in his district in Hawaii Kai, and so now he's making another bill again," Royos said. "I think he's sadly mistaken. ... We have tried our utmost best to make everybody happy. ... We have been doing our job."

Djou said he does not hold out hope that the bill will make it out of the Council unless people with rooster problems come out to support it in large numbers.