Prohibit chickens in residential areas

THE ISSUE City Councilman Charles Djou is proposing that chickens be prohibited in urban Honolulu.

COMPLAINTS about noise from roosters have prompted City Councilman Charles Djou to resurrect a proposed ban on chickens in urban Honolulu, a measure that was rejected four years ago. The Council should find the courage to stand up to advocates of illegal cockfighting and approve the prohibition.

Roosters -- both stray and cooped -- are a noise nuisance in many neighborhoods on Oahu. Feral chickens have the potential to be carriers of disease, including avian flu, posing a health threat to residents.

A bill that would have banned roosters from all residential properties was rejected in 2002 after cockfighting enthusiasts crowded the Council chambers in protest. Djou put forth his proposal a year later to limit such a ban to the area between Pearl City and Hawaii Kai, including his own East Honolulu district, but it, too, was rejected.

The problem is likely to continue until the counties and state make a major effort to rid the islands of the brutal bloodsport. Cockfighting is illegal in every state except Louisiana, where legislation is pending. It is a felony in 33 states, but a mere misdemeanor in Hawaii.

That should not discourage enforcement. A task force comprised of federal, state and local forces last weekend made three raids of illegal cockfighting rings in Arizona and Oklahoma -- where cockfighting is a state misdemeanor. One of the raids led to 81 felony arrests and 61 misdemeanor citations, and federal authorities are seeking seizure of the property.

President Bush in April signed into law a measure that makes it a felony to transport gamecocks or other animals across state lines for fighting.