The increasing visibility of chickens on the Sacramento State campus has had some administrators squawking about population control.

In a recent Faculty Senate meeting, President Donald Gerth said the number of the animals on campus has ballooned over the years, and it was time to do something about it.

“The chickens have become so numerous that the group needs to be thinned,” Gerth said. “It will be done in a way that is humane, and they will be able to live out the rest of their existence with other chickens.”

Gerth said they would be delivered to a chicken farm.

Since the March 15 Faculty Senate meeting, no direct action has been made concerning the possible movement of the chickens. Officials in Facilities Management claim to have received no information from the administration regarding a possible transfer.

“I heard through the rumor mill that something will be done to the chickens. We haven?t been directed by the upper level administration to do anything,” said Linda Hafar, associate director of Plant Services for Facilities Management.

Hafar said Facilities Management is not responsible for the downsizing of the chicken population.

“Our job is to clean up after the chickens. If something happens to them, or if they were killed, then that?s when we can only do something about it,” Hafar said. “Last spring was the last time I heard of any incident about a chicken being killed. We haven?t heard about any incidents since.”

Hafar was referring to an incident that occurred last spring, involving a chicken that was killed by a dog and then left in a trash can. Since then there has only been one incident regarding cruel treatment toward chickens reported to the Department of Public Safety.

University Transportation and Parking Services student employee, Kim Ingersoll, called Campus Police on March 14 to report an incident involving a man who was in the Residence Hall area with a pit bull.

The report stated, “A BMA, 20s, dark clothing, had a brown pit bull with him in the parking area of the dorms. The dog was running loose in the area and attacked a white chicken causing considerable damage to the chicken.”

According to Ingersoll, there have been other incidents with the chickens. She said that last year some people kidnapped a chicken, killed it and stuffed it into a toilet in Desmond Hall. Soon after she heard about the casualty, Ingersoll contacted a co-worker who then told Cynthia Cockrill, director of Housing & Residential Life.

Cockrill issued a memorandum the next day about the consequences for the cruelty of animals.

Cockrill refused to go on record about the specific details of the Desmond Hall incident and John Hamblen, hall director of Desmond Hall, failed to return phone calls by press time.

Ingersoll did not know why anyone in the dorms was not willing to go on record about the cruelty done to the chickens. She said they must fear being ostracized by their residential peers.

“It?s disturbing that no one will come forward to talk about what?s happened. It?s like their silence promotes the cruel treatment,” Ingersoll said.

Greg Kane contributed to this report.