Calls for feral chickens to be put to use as a food source and driver of local business have been rejected as a health risk by the Ministry of Public Works and Environment.

As the island reckons with an explosion in the population of feral chickens, One Bermuda Alliance MP Robin Tucker called for an inventive approach to the island’s “crisis over food security” in an opinion article published on Tuesday.

Ms Tucker had highlighted the damage to agriculture and private property left by the birds, which have been in the crosshairs of a heightened removal campaign since December.

A similar call came last week from a member of the public, who suggested the birds could be used for food security instead of being culled indiscriminately.

A ministry spokesman acknowledged the need for “constructive public discussion on ways to improve resilience and support greater local food production”.

However he said it was misleading to imply that “practical proposals are being ignored or that matters affecting food security are not being taken seriously”.

He said the idea of using the wild chickens for eggs or meat had been considered, but was “not found to be viable for several practical, regulatory, biosecurity and public health reasons”.

He added: “Feral chickens are not domestic farm animals raised in controlled conditions.

“Because they live outside any managed agricultural system, there are legitimate concerns about disease, contamination, biosecurity exposure and whether they could safely meet the standards required for food or egg production.”

Government officials have said in previous years that chickens in the wild typically yield fertilised eggs while the meat has been described as tough because of their habitat and diet.

“Those are not minor concerns,” the ministry spokesman said. “They go directly to public health, food safety and the protection of Bermuda’s agricultural environment.”

He said bringing feral chickens into the food chain would require “substantial oversight, specialised infrastructure and ongoing monitoring to ensure compliance with proper health and regulatory standards”.

“In practical terms, the level of intervention required would likely outweigh any potential benefit.”

He said targeted population control stood out as the more “effective and responsible” means of dealing with chicken numbers.

“Simply attempting to round up birds for farming or egg production would not resolve the underlying problem, particularly given how quickly feral populations can recover.”

The ministry said the proposal was not “dismissed without consideration” but had been assessed against the practical realities involved.