Key West Florida and chickens

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Officials estimate that as many as 2,000 roosters and hens run free on the eight-square-mile island, a popular tourist destination 163 miles south of Miami in the Florida Keys. A city ordinance prohibits killing the birds.

Jones said the chickens pose a safety and health hazard and have been the subject of nearly 150 citizen complaints.

Residents have been upset about chickens digging up yards, darting through traffic, leaving droppings and crowing loudly at odd hours.

Under a measure approved by the City Commission, about half the chickens could be trapped and shipped to a farm near Tampa.

Feathers ruffled
Some long-time residents, though, are crying foul, claiming chicken are a Key West tradition, and should be protected.

'It's a blame and deport the chickens kind of thing.'


— Katha Sheehan
Activist known in Key West as the Chicken Lady

"It's a blame and deport the chickens kind of thing," said Katha Sheehan, known locally as the "Chicken Lady."

She has collected thousands of signatures in defense of the birds. "They're so beautiful, so optimistic, so full of life," Sheehan said. "They are a beacon of hope for people who live such dull lives."