California Cops Help Chickens Cross the Road, For Real

“Because they obviously did not want to become ‘fast food’ on an LA area freeway, of course!” At least according to the California Highway Patrol Santa Fe Springs Twitter page, after 19 chickens were spotted running around the 605 Freeway in L.A. County earlier this week.

One lane of the freeway had to be shut down at about 6 a.m. Tuesday so police officers could round up the birds. The officers used cardboard found on the side of the road to herd the chickens off the highway and into a police cruiser. While two birds died on the roadway, 17 others were taken to a shelter run by the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority. Several of the birds had to be euthanized due to injuries, according to ABC7 News.

We took these guys into custody without any trouble. They were too chicken to fight. pic.twitter.com/agQioGoC4a

– CHP Santa Fe Springs (@CHP_SFS) January 2, 2018

Actual footage taken by motorcycle CHP Officer C.Lillie begs the question, “why DID the chickens cross the road?” It’s an LA area freeway, so they crossed to not become “fast” food of course! pic.twitter.com/9KTu3FEd4b

– CHP Santa Fe Springs (@CHP_SFS) January 2, 2018

The nine surviving chickens have been sent to one of the agency’s adoption partners, according to Denise Woodside, SEAACAs outreach coordinator.

“They’re going to be living out their chicken lives,” she told Modern Farmer by phone.

Woodside says that while this case is definitely a bit strange because the chickens were found on the freeway, the agency is used to it. “We see all kinds of cases. Dogs, cats, chickens, and rabbits,” she says.

According to the LA Times, The chickens fell off a truck without the driver realizing it. The police initially didn’t know the reason why the chickens were attempting to cross the road.

“We have no trucks that stopped and no cages found on the roadway,” said CHP Officer Jeremy Tolen told ABC7 News. “So we’re not exactly sure how they came to be on the roadway.”

Local media, the CHP Twitter page and other Twitter users had a field day with chicken-related puns, from comments about the chickens “running a-fowl of the law” to the hashtag “fowlplayonthehighway.”

Here’s the video everyone’s been asking for. #ChasingChickensOnThe605. The freeway is no place for #FastFood! #WeLoveAnimalsToo pic.twitter.com/0mwJcdj9D6

– CHP Santa Fe Springs (@CHP_SFS) January 2, 2018