There was eggs-tremely bad news for the Island’s feral chicken population this Easter: Government has slaughtered 1,700 of them in the space of just six months.While residents were hunting for seasonal egg treats, a team from the Ministry of Public Works was hunting down free-roaming chickens across the Island.The creatures have been criticised by local residents for damaging crops, waking them too early in the morning and even posing a safety hazard at the airport.A spokesman for the Ministry of Public works told The Royal Gazette: “Efforts are being made to address the problem in protected areas, arable fields and specifically around the airport. Since October 2011 we have taken over 1,700 chickens, with 280-plus from around Cooper’s Island and the airport, 83 from Coney Island, 69 from the Botanical Gardens and 69 from Spittal Pond. We have also taken large numbers of feral pigeons from farms, grocery stores and the City of Hamilton.”The total number of pigeons culled stands at 571 for the period October 2011 to March 2012. The birds have been killed using two types of traps and a shooting programme, according to the spokesman. In previous years, the annual death toll for feral chickens has been in the region of 600, according to information released in Budget statistics.Opposition Senator Michael Dunkley has spoken out over the problem before, telling the Senate last month that more needs to be done. Asked for his reaction to the latest news, he said the wide-scale culling is still not good enough.“I’m interested to see that Government is committed to trying to deal with the problem. However, it doesn’t seem that the situation is getting any better; it continues to deteriorate. We need to step it up. Chickens and pigeons can be a health hazard if we let them get out of hand. We have let those populations grow and it will be a problem. They can clear crops out of the fields in no time and I saw them recently around the pool at a guest property,” he complained.“Who wants to come to Bermuda and have feral chickens running around the pool? That doesn’t send the message of a quality destination.”Sen Dunkley believes the large number of birds culled only demonstrates that their numbers have spiralled.“It tells you that the problem is getting bigger, not that they are denting it,” he said.