An animal-welfare advocate has called on the Government to adopt a more humane approach to addressing the island’s feral chicken problem, branded an “ecological disaster” last year by farmers.

Jessica Riederer said that while she understands that the chickens are pests, she had seen the birds dealt with improperly by officials.

She argued that by erecting pens in areas known to have chicken problems and feeding the birds in the enclosures, they could be captured easily and put to productive use.

Ms Riederer said: “The hens that are caught could be put in an area where there would be nest boxes in a big, big run, and the eggs that they produce would go towards whoever wanted them. It helps our food security.

“The roosters would be caught and put in a different area. If they could not be rehomed, then they could be used for dog food.”

The Government has said that as part of established animal control procedures, feral chickens are sedated, collected, humanely culled and prepared for disposal at the Tynes Bay Incinerator.

A government spokesman urged residents last month to report their concerns rather than interfere with chicken-culling operations, warning that obstructing an officer in the execution of official duties is an offence.

He said: “These measures are essential to reducing the significant environmental, public health and agricultural impacts caused by unmanaged feral chicken populations across the island.

“Interference with these operations poses serious risks to both public officers and the animals involved.

“When members of the public attempt to intervene, particularly by trying to retrieve sedated chickens with the intention of reviving them, public officers are forced to alter standard protocols to prevent the unauthorised removal of sedated animals.”

Ms Riederer said that she and her friends were among those who have sought to revive sedated chickens, recalling a recent incident near Chaplin Bay in Southampton when she came across a Department of Environment and Natural Resources van in the parking lot.

She said that as she approached, she noticed two sedated hens and one sedated rooster on the ground and went to pick up one of the birds.

Ms Riederer said that the DENR staff member immediately got a black trash bag from the van, “snatched” the bird from her hands and put it in the bag.

She said: “I told him that if he was going to put her in the bag he needed to break the neck first.”

Ms Riederer said the worker told her he was waiting until all the chickens had dropped to collect them and that he did not want to break the birds’ necks in front of her.

While she said the worker told her he would pick up all the sedated birds, Ms Riederer said that her group found several sedated chickens on the ground after he had driven away.

Ms Riederer said: “I picked up four chickens that had been sedated that had been left to die, that he had not bothered to pick up.”

She said that not only was it cruel to leave the sedated animals behind to be eaten by insects and vermin, it would also bolster the island’s rat population.

Ms Riederer said that while she was upset by the incident as a lover of animals, she denied that she had obstructed the DENR worker.

She said that the feral chickens pose a problem for the island but that the system being adopted to address them has resulted in the birds suffering needlessly.

Ms Riederer added that when sedatives are used to cull chickens, other birds such as bluebirds and cardinals are known to consume the sedatives and die as a result.

Instead, she urged an alternative approach be taken to address the issue.

In addition to trapping the birds and putting them to productive use, she said that action should be taken to stem the root cause of the problem — illegal dumping of animals.

Ms Riederer said: “There is a lot of legislation that is not being followed. For example, there needs to be punishment for those who dump animals, whether it’s chickens, rabbits, cats, guinea pigs or anything else.”

The Government was contacted for comment on Ms Riederer’s claims and proposal, but none was received by the time of publication.