The chicken and rooster caging that occurred on Oct. 29 near University Village at The University of Miami was authorized by the City of Coral Gables. A licensed vendor was hired by the city to cage and relocate the animals to a farm.
“This approach ensures the animals are treated ethically while maintaining public health and neighborhood quality of life,” said Martha Pantin, the director of the communications and public affairs division of the City of Coral Gables, in a statement to The Hurricane.
Although the University of Miami has contracted its own vendors to trap and relocate campus animals in the past, UM was not made aware of this activity since the caging occurred on public property.
“The city’s code does not permit the keeping of chickens or other poultry, and in this case, the animals had become a nuisance,” said Pantin.
According to AP, domesticated poultry are culturally significant to those from rural parts of Cuba and Latin America. As people from Cuba and Latin America moved to Miami and surrounding areas, they brought the chickens and kept the animals as pets in backyards.
The wild chickens, relatives of the domestic pets, started walking through public areas about 20 years ago and quickly became a symbol of the area. In 2002, Little Havana put up fiberglass statues of roosters as part of “Rooster Walk,” a project designed to celebrate the culture of the neighborhood.
However, Pantin added that, “Poultry are generally not compatible with dense urban environments, as they can attract predators, create sanitation issues and generate noise concerns.”
Trapping and relocating the chickens was done in a safe and humane way with the interest of the animals in mind.