FLOCKY HORROR SHOW
Market town menaced by 200 feral chickens
A MARKET town has been left divided over whether or not to feed a feral flock of chickens.
Up to 200 have been living in Diss, Norfolk, for more than two years after cocks and hens were abandoned by their owners on an estate. Now the local authority has threatened locals with £80 fines if they keep feeding them.
Many – including those who live close to the ‘noisy and dirty’ brood – are cock-ahoop at the crackdown.
But animal lovers are spitting feathers, saying they are doing nothing wrong and don’t want the birds to go hungry.
When the Mail visited the area, signs warning about the fixed penalties had been torn down and dumped in bins.
Carol Morris, 72, who regularly feeds the chickens, said: ‘There are so many people here that love them. We’re all nature lovers and the kids come down to see them.
‘There’s one or two people that don’t like them but they’re in the minority. I feed
Crackdown: The controversial notice them every day and there’s no way I am going to stop that.’
She added: ‘The notices about fines went up last Friday and I came home from town to find they’d been removed. That’s what the people think about the possibility of being fined.’
Margaret Chapman, 81, said: ‘It’s a sorry road to be threatening people with fines. Who do they think they are? It’s heavyhanded and draconian. People are just being kind to animals and it’s a really narrow-minded response.’
The pensioner argued there were ‘more important’ issues to deal with, such as litter in the town centre.
But homeowners have complained they were at the end of their tether.
One said: ‘They drive me mad – it’s the noise. There’s a lot of light from the builder’s yard and train station so they’ve got no idea what time of day it is, so the cockerels crow through the night.
‘It’s very frustrating that people are going out of their way to feed them. If they are that keen on the chickens then take them home. They’re only here now because they’re being fed.’
South Norfolk Council has ruled out a cull despite the fact the birds have been blamed for attracting rats.
Councillor Keith Kiddie said: ‘In the past we have asked that people do not feed the chickens and we have worked with residents to relocate as many of the birds as possible. The notices are just to make residents aware of existing powers that we have and can use if required.’