For years, hen and rooster alike have thrived in San Juan
Bautista, making a show of themselves along Third Street and
subsisting largely on the kindness of strangers, but their days of
freeloading may soon be over.
For years, hen and rooster alike have thrived in San Juan Bautista, making a show of themselves along Third Street and subsisting largely on the kindness of strangers, but their days of freeloading may soon be over.
The San Juan Bautista city council approved a city ordinance by a 3-2 vote Tuesday evening making it illegal to feed wild chickens. Many hope the new law will effectively sound the death knell for the golden age of the mission city’s roaming roosters.
“I say just get rid of them and be done with it,” said San Juan Bautista Councilman George Diaz. “We can round ’em up and fry ’em… it could be a fundraiser.”
Though complaints, arguments and chicken round-ups have been a hot topic at city council meetings for years, only about 20 residents turned out to witness the fowls’ fate Tuesday night. At least one resident even sported a black T-shirt depicting a large rooster on the back. Most present agreed that despite the chickens’ status as a San Juan institution, the population should be controlled, but not all were in favor of an ordinance.
“When this town was founded… chickens used to be considered part of the citizenry,” said resident Rebecca McGovern. “I think we have to be careful when we destroy what has been part of San Juan since its founding.”
Others, however, implored the council to pass the ordinance, saying that having a rule on the books, at least, would be better than none at all.
“People don’t pay any attention to speed limits, but the rules are there when they are needed,” said resident Susan Brady. “They’ve (chickens) cost me hundreds of dollars in damages. I’m tired of being under attack. And if you think that’s funny you have no idea how serious the problem is.”
Council members Priscilla Hill and Chuck Geiger eventually voted against the ordinance saying it would be largely unenforceable, among other reasons.
“Can’t we just put up some signs that say ‘Please Don’t Feed the Chickens?’ ” asked Geiger.
San Benito County Sheriff Curtis Hill has said a number of times that his department will not get involved with San Juan’s poultry politics, and the passage of the ordinance has not changed his position.
“For the past four years this is what I’ve told people when they ask me what I’m going to do about it (the chicken population): ‘Absolutely nothing. Zero,’ ” he said. “We’re not animal control. It’s not even on our radar.”
The council did make a few changes before it voted on the ordinance. Initially the proposal had two items struck from the ordinance at Diaz’s request : A statement that San Juan has historically been home to feral chickens, and another that sufficient natural forage exists within the city to support a reasonable chicken population.
The ordinance does not specify a fine for chicken feeding, but the San Juan municipal code mandates that the first infraction would constitute a fine of $50, and a second within 12 months would cost $100, with an additional fine of $500 for every infraction thereafter. Feeding the birds in the park, then, could become an expensive hobby for many.
The city does have a feral chicken brigade, a group of citizens who attempt to round up chickens humanely and pass them off to rural ranchers. Grace Nutter, who has volunteered many afternoons tracking chickens down, expressed concerns that if people are no longer allowed to feed the fowl, they will scatter, making them difficult to catch. Also, she added, ranchers may fear rounding up the chickens themselves for fear of being cited and having to pay a fine.
“There used to be an unsaid thing among rural residents that if you needed to rebuild your chicken stock, you could go downtown and help yourself, and that kept the population under control,” she said.
The mission city’s efforts to thwart the growth of the local chicken population have garnered national attention. Last week, a story about the issue ran in The Los Angeles Times, and yesterday the Spanish-language channel Univision requested copies of the council meeting tapes from CMAP and interviewed a spokesman from the county sheriff’s department. Rumors are also circulating that CNN is looking into the matter as well.
Wednesday afternoon, many local residents hadn’t even realized the ordinance had passed, while tourists snapped pictures of the strolling fowl and remarked on their plumage.
“There are so many things to worry about in this town, like the water project and bathrooms for the tourists, and to be worrying about chickens is ridiculous,” said Carolyn Gargiulo, owner of County Bounty. “Is the sheriff going to enforce it? No. They have better things to do. They’re not the poultry police.”
“I’ve gotten used to the chickens, but where I used to live it was terrible,” said Jesus Zavala, owner of J.J.’s Burgers. “The mess all over the place and it gets on your rug when you walk inside, and then they crow all night. They don’t shut up.”
Tourists, in particular, scoffed at the idea of criminalizing chicken feeders, though many expressed sympathy for residents who are forced to live with the crowing and feces.
“My wife is from a little town in Mexico, she grew up with chickens,” said Jose Diaz, from Salinas. “The chickens are the first thing she fell in love with. They’re cute, you know?”
Regardless of how they feel about the ordinance, most residents seem to believe that the new law will do little to curb the chicken population, though only time will tell.
“I don’t think anyone is going to care,” said Stephanie Alnas of the San Juan Bakery. “People come in just to buy chips to feed the chickens, they’re going to get fed somehow.”
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or ds****@fr***********.com
