The Big Kerfluffle

By Beth Yarbrough

As it turns out, the entire thing was a false alarm, but in the spirit of shining a light on how things can quickly get out of hand, I offer this dispatch from Key West.

Maybe you are aware that this island is inhabited by a large population of free range roosters and hens. They arrived here from Cuba in the 19th century and never left. I can’t say that I blame them. And now, coming up on two centuries later, they are firmly established residents with deep ancestral roots.

They even have their own historical marker. A few years ago in advance of an approaching monster hurricane, they were actually rounded up and evacuated. That is the degree to which they are loved and respected.

Imagine my alarm, then, when I learned yesterday that there was an official city plan afoot to capture every last feathered fanny and ship them off to parts unknown. Had the sky just fallen? It seemed so.

The community had quickly launched a protest. Petitions were circulated. One that I heard of contained 800 signatures. Social media was ablaze. Plans were laid for protesters to attend yesterday afternoon’s City Council meeting and speak out. Had I not found out about the meeting only five minutes before it was to begin, I might have been right there with them.

As it was, one of my Southern Voice Facebook readers promised to attend and report back, and a couple of hours later, he did. At the meeting, it was revealed that the entire thing was a big misunderstanding, inadvertently spawned when a member of city council casually asked a question in a council meeting a couple of months ago about monitoring or protecting or documenting or some sort - and the rest is history.

The city issued an official statement of reassurance. There are no plans to harm the roosters and chickens. Residents can stand down. And we can all heave a big sigh of relief. The Key West island alarm clocks will live to crow another day.

Photos by Beth Yarbrough.

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