Chicken roundabout
{{Short description|Roundabout in Suffolk, United Kingdom}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2017}}
File:Chicken Roundabout - geograph.org.uk - 1715515.jpg
The chicken roundabout is a roundabout located on the A143 road, on the Bungay and Ditchingham bypass in Suffolk, United Kingdom. The roundabout was famous for being the habitat for a large group of feral chickens, which were fed and cared for by a local man until their numbers declined and they were relocated in 2010.
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History
The poultry pre-dated the roundabout, having lived at the site for decades before its construction. They are thought to have escaped from an allotment and survived on grain from a nearby maltings, which burned down in 1999.{{cite book|page=82|title=Slow Travel: Suffolk|first=Laurence|last=Mitchell|date=2014|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-1tmAwAAQBAJ|accessdate=25 July 2014|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides|location=Chalfont St Peter|isbn=9781841625508}} They were fed and cared for by Bungay resident Gordon Knowles for almost two decades, during which time they at one point numbered 300.
In 2000, Norfolk County Council planned to move the birds over safety concerns{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1356670/Feathers-fly-at-the-chicken-roundabout.html|title=Feathers fly at the chicken roundabout|date=25 September 2000|accessdate=25 July 2014|work=The Daily Telegraph|first=David|last=Sapsted}} but backtracked following protests.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2305557.stm|title=Roundabout 'roosters' face new threat|date=7 October 2002|accessdate=25 July 2014|work=BBC News}} In 2002 the flock was threatened again when campaigners reported the chickens were being "systematically – we think – stolen and sold".
2006 saw an increase in numbers, to a total of over 100, thought to be the result of pet owners' fears over avian flu;{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4785664.stm|title=Flu fears blamed for dumped hens|date=8 March 2006|accessdate=25 July 2014|work=BBC News}} and a decline, attributed to people feeding them rat poison, which led to their numbers being reduced to around six.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6153672.stm|title=Fear for wild roundabout chickens|date=16 November 2006|accessdate=25 July 2014|work=BBC News}}
In July 2009, some 70 chickens went missing from the flock of around 100. An RSPCA inspector commented that "Some may have been taken by foxes or other natural predators, but there is a possibility that others may have [been] stolen or harmed."{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/suffolk/8144725.stm|title=Chickens vanish from roundabout|date=10 July 2009|accessdate=25 July 2014|work=BBC News}} In 2010 the remaining six birds were given to an animal charity.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-21533963|title=Chicken roundabout: New birds disappear from site|date=21 February 2013|accessdate=25 July 2014|work=BBC News}} Knowles said he would stop looking after the chickens as he could no longer bear to see them maltreated.{{cite web|url=http://www.becclesandbungayjournal.co.uk/news/chickenman_to_retire_1_556378|title=Chickenman to retire|date=9 July 2010|accessdate=25 July 2014|work=Beccles & Bungay 24}}
In 2012, a plaque was unveiled celebrating Knowles's work, and a ceremony held at which Bungay town councillor Deirdre Shepherd described Knowles as "a living legend" and "one of the last of the great eccentrics".{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-20686120|title=Chicken roundabout: Plaque for Bungay's 'chicken man'|date=11 December 2012|accessdate=25 July 2014|work=BBC News}}{{cite web|url=http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/honour_for_bungay_man_who_made_chicken_roundabout_a_national_hit_1_1739896|title=Honour for Bungay man who made Chicken Roundabout a national hit|date=12 December 2012|accessdate=25 July 2014|work=Eastern Daily Press|first=Louisa|last=Lay}} Also in 2012 a campaign was launched to commemorate the chickens with a series of statues;{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-20093122|title=Chicken roundabout: Plans for statues at Ditchingham|date=26 October 2012|accessdate=25 July 2014|work=BBC News}} however in January 2013 Ditchingham Parish Council blocked plans for the "Chicken of the East" statue, which it described as a safety hazard.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-21212032|title=Chicken roundabout: Ditchingham Council opposes statue|date=26 January 2013|accessdate=25 July 2014|work=BBC News}}
In February 2013, a group of five miniature hens were left on the roundabout,{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-21510406|title=Hens dumped at Norfolk's 'chicken roundabout'|date=19 February 2013|accessdate=25 July 2014|work=BBC News}}{{cite web|url=http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/poultry_return_to_ditchingham_chicken_roundabout_1_1936726|title=Poultry return to Ditchingham chicken roundabout|date=17 February 2013|accessdate=25 July 2014|work=Eastern Daily Press|first=Kathryn|last=Bradley}}{{cite web|url=http://www.itv.com/news/anglia/story/2013-02-19/return-to-chicken-roundabout/|title=Return to 'chicken roundabout'|date=19 February 2013|accessdate=25 July 2014|work=ITV News}} but were relocated days later. Gordon Knowles, known as the "Chicken Man of Bungay", died in January 2020.{{cite web|url=https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/gordon-knowles-bungay-chicken-roundabout-tributes-1-6485066|title=Tributes to 'Ole Chicken Man of Bungay' who catapulted roundabout into national spotlight|date=27 January 2020|accessdate=28 January 2020|work=Eastern Daily Press|first=Reece|last=Hanson}}
References
{{commons category|Chicken Roundabout}}
{{reflist|30em}}
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