fowl who are ruining gardens and keeping residents from getting a good night's sleep.

Government Conservation Officer Dr. David Wingate said it had only been in the last 15 years that local chickens had "gone feral''.

He estimated there were as many as 1,000 wild hens, roosters and chickens roaming the Island.

"It can be devastating,'' he said.

One woman -- frustrated at what she felt was a lack of action by Police and Government -- took her complaints to The Royal Gazette yesterday.

But Dr. Wingate said the Department was "plagued'' with calls from residents furious at being kept awake by crowing roosters and having their vegetable and flower gardens torn up.

And when his officers conducted organised shootings of the birds to appease residents' complaints, there was public outrage.

He said the action was only taken as a last resort -- after the `owner' of the wild fowl had ignored repeated orders to control his or her birds and all neighbours had been informed.

A new silent air gun was now used so as not to frighten residents, he added.

The Ord Road (Tribe Road Number Two) resident said she was being kept awake from 3 a.m. on by crowing roosters. She could not even take an afternoon nap.

The birds were running wild and multiplying because their owner was not keeping them under control and inside a coop, she claimed.

This was despite warnings from the Warwick parish constable, she said. She added the Agriculture Department had not been able to solve the problem either in spite of repeated calls by area residents.

In desperation the residents had also approached the constituency's MPs, she said.

Agriculture, Fisheries and Parks director Mr. John Barnes promised to look into the problem.

But he said there was little his department could do because the troublesome birds were apparently privately owned -- even though running wild.

And it was hard for Police to prosecute because it had to be proven that they were a public nuisance.

He added it was often the case Government pest control officers would go to a problem area and set traps, but fail to catch all the birds.

"You wouldn't believe how fast they can multiply,'' he said.

Dr. Wingate pointed out a problem with the Department's air gun may be why no action had been taken.

A spring had snapped and was being repaired, creating a backlog of cases for officers to tackle.

If `owners' of the wild fowl refused to keep them in a fenced-in area, officers had a right to take action after informing him and his neighbours, he added.

The Ord Road woman, who did not want to be named, said the crowing started as early as 3 a.m. and continued on-and-off throughout the day.

And to make matters worse, her garden was being scratched up and littered with leaves which the birds pulled out from under hedges.

Though the hens and roosters have been kept in the neighbourhood for several years, the problem worsened as they multiplied, she said.

She guessed the owner of the poultry was getting too old to be bothered with looking after them.

"There's cackling all day and night,'' she complained. "We have gone to our MPs, the Police and Agriculture and Fisheries, but we can't seem to get any action.'' Her sentiments were shared by at least a dozen other neighbours, she claimed.

Dr. David Wingate.