Committee passes amended bill classifying feral chickens as controllable pest, adds rescues/research exemptions

The committee voted to advance HB2561 after an extended public comment period that featured sharply divided views on whether feral chickens should be designated a controllable pest and subject to enforcement and fines.

Chair explained amendments that will exempt approved research and rescue activities from the bill’s feeding prohibition, delete the most contested section, and add a county collection program modeled on language taken from a companion measure. "Instead of allowing people to take care of chickens on their own property... we're gonna leave it to the professionals and give them a chance or a place to take them instead," the chair said when explaining the package of changes.

Why it matters: Testimony included accounts of health and quality‑of‑life impacts: a Kaneohe resident said roosters’ noise caused migraines and sleep disruption and urged enforcement. "I'm ready to use my BB gun and kill them," one commenter told the committee, describing the personal toll of persistent roosters. Other speakers warned against criminalizing compassion and urged the committee to build infrastructure for rescue and relocation.

Brian Burns, president and founder of Trooper's Chicken Rescue, told lawmakers that enforcement alone will not reduce populations and urged state‑supported partnership with rescue organizations. "When we classify these animals as a nuisance, we risk turning away from Hawaii's ancestral reverence for the sacred moa," Burns said, calling for intentional operational coordination so volunteers and law enforcement can work together.

The Department of Health supported a public‑health framing but noted it is not an animal‑control agency and recommended stronger coordination among agencies and animal‑welfare partners. Department of Land and Natural Resources staff described how chickens currently sit in a gray area of law and explained that adding chickens to relevant statutes would make enforcement tools clearer.

After the chair’s package of amendments was proposed—adding rescue/research exemptions, removing the controversial section, and including a blank county appropriation for collection programs—the committee passed HB2561 with amendments; the chair and vice chair voted aye and no recorded noes were raised.

Next steps: The bill advances with the committee’s amendments; sponsors and agencies will work on the operational details for coordination, rescue infrastructure, and county collection programs.