Antioch City Council to Discuss Hiring Contractor to Trap Wild Roosters and Hens

On Tuesday, the Antioch City Council will discuss the idea of hiring a contractor at $7,050 to go out and capture wild roosters and hens in the north eastern part of the city.

According to the Staff Report, the wild rooster and hen problem is occurring in the area of Vine Lane, Viera Avenue, Walnut Avenue and Brown Lane. The caveat in the proposal is should the contractors efforts fail, costs could grow while the population of roosters and hens will simply repopulate.

It’s estimated that there are as many as 70 wild roosters and hens roaming the neighborhood with the original complaint dates back to December 2009 when a property owner complained to the County.

At the time, the result was:

“… It was apparent none of the involved parties were committed to assisting in trapping the birds. They all state they want the birds gone, but no one appears to want to do the work to make it happen…

According to a April 2, 2014 meeting with residents, folks in the area wanted them eradicated, but no one wanted to accept any cost for the animals trapped and removed. Some were agreeable to placing traps in their yards but refused to maintain or protect them.

Per the Staff Report:

On April 24, 2014, staff went out to a residence in the area to speak to the alleged owner/caretaker of the roosters and hens. Per this resident, she did not own any of the birds in the area. She claimed to feed feral cats that would come into her yard, but that was all. She stated she had no problem if the birds were taken away but said neither she nor any of her family members would do (or pay) anything to have them removed

From that time until July 22, 2014 there had been meetings and numerous phone calls between staff and the primary complaining resident. These conversations were unproductive.

According to the Staff Report

On August 12, 2014, staff went back out to the area of Vine Lane, Viera Avenue, Walnut Avenue and Bown Lane to talk to the neighbors concerning the roosters and hens. That day, staff reached out to nearly 20 area residents to talk to them about this issue. After the daylong visit, staff concluded the majority of the roosters and hens were staying toward the end of Walnut Avenue and Vine Lane. Staff further concluded the residents that lived in that area were likely contributing to the animals staying and reproducing, though staff had no way to prove it.

Both of these residents disassociated themselves from the animals and further refused to do anything about them. This response was consistent with other area residents, all of whom rejected ownership of the roosters and hens but refused to take any action of their own to eradicate them on their own property.

On August 26, staff sent a letter to all of the homes in that area as a final notice to any potential owners/caretakers of the roosters and hens. Staff received no responses.

City Staff says that they had a meeting in late 2014 with the resident who kept issuing the complaint. They say:

During that meeting, the resident was unwilling to take any responsibility for mitigating his issue. Although staff had done some research for him regarding a service to help eradicate the birds, he said it was not his responsibility. The quote from “Animal Damage Control” was $7,050 (Exhibit 2) for the initial sweep. (This quote was recently confirmed with “Animal Damage Control” and remains the same.) When this was proposed to the resident, he said this was not his problem and expected the City of Antioch to eradicate the birds. This resident would not accept these were wild animals and that City Staff does not address non-vicious wild animals. Since that meeting, this resident has contacted individual Council Members and made appearances at City Council meetings.

City Staff are looking for direction from the City Council after they have exhausted all efforts with the residents in the area and no one is willing to participate in resolving the problem and instead expecting the City to resolve it.

Currently, Antioch Animal Control Services (like the County) does not address wild (feral) animals that are non-vicious. They do not address complaints about crows, pheasants, owls, woodpeckers, pigeons, rodents, etc. Staff is suggesting they continue this practice and mimic the county.

One solution, shooting or killing the birds, will reflect negatively on Animal Services in killing non-violent wild animals.

Staff also says that if the Council approves the contract to trap these birds, it sets a precedent and it will be hard to say “no” to the next person who files a complaint.

Staff further highlighted that the initial estimate of $7,050was just the start and believe it will be much higher because some residents feed these wild animals and will not allow the city or city contractor onto their property to trap–ultimately, most residents are not willing to get involved.

Ultimately, unless the contract is able to trap all estimated 70 birds, they will simply reproduce and the problem will continue.

Staff also pointed out that unlike Feral Cat Advocates, these residents are not willing to work with staff and help resolve this issue. They were not willing to work with CCCAC and apparently have continued with the same attitude with Antioch Animal Shelter staff.

If You Go:
Antioch City Council Meeting
Tuesday, January 26, 2016 at 7:00 pm
City Council Chambers, 200 H Street, Antioch