Annoyed motorist cries fowl

Police and the Waitaki District Council are looking into the antics of a domestic chicken flock in Herbert. Photo: Shannon Gillies.

The answer to this age-old question is being worked on by police and Waitaki District Council staff.

On Wednesday, police and animal control responded to a complaint from a motorist about the dangers posed to traffic on State Highway 1 by the domestic chicken flock kept at a property just on the outskirts of Herbert, south of Oamaru.

Sergeant Tony Woodbridge, of Oamaru, said chickens roaming on to the main traffic route had been an ongoing problem.

He said council staff were in contact with the chicken owner about what they could do  because of the "significant" traffic issue the birds created. When cars were travelling north on SH1 they drive over a brow of a hill from a 100kmh area into a 70kmh area, he said, and drivers might encounter the chickens on the road and swerve to miss them.

The Otago Daily Times was unable to make contact with the chicken owner before the time of this article’s publication.

Under the council’s bylaws, any person keeping poultry must ensure the birds are effectively contained within their property and do not cause a nuisance.

shannon.gillies@odt.co.nz