An Albany man who is at war with his neighbour over his pet chickens is upset that Auckland Council has deemed his complaint "low risk".
John Lee, who lives on Hobson Rd, lodged a complaint claiming his neighbour was keeping more than 30 chickens in a coop right on the boundary line of his property.
Under the Animal Management Bylaw the property can have up to 12 chickens without needing a licence.
Chicken owner Frank Ren said he had 20 chickens including a rooster, and admits he does not have a licence - but he only had so many because they recently had chicks.
Lee, who is renovating his house, said the chickens were a noise and health hazard, and were affecting his lifestyle.
"The neighbour has placed a chicken coop right on their boundary line as close as they could literally get to my house," Lee said.
"It's causing me so much stress with the stench growing by the day and the flies, vermin and mosquitoes they attract."
Lee said it was reaching a point where opening the windows was no longer an option. The rooster, he said, was also creating excessive noise.
"I've discussed this issue with little success and basically my neighbour says it is his land and he can do what he likes," Lee said.
Lee has just moved back to New Zealand from Australia with his fiancee and believed the chickens will severely impact their lifestyle.
Lee complained to the council, but was told it was unable to attend as it had a backlog of calls to deal with.
Ren, who has lived in his property since June last year, said council investigators visited his property last September over a noise complaint about the rooster by another neighbour.
However he maintained it was his legal right to own a rooster, and that the matter had already been resolved.
Ren said he had only moved the coop about two weeks ago because he was installing a new tanking system, and did not believe it was causing the problems Lee was complaining about.
"Everything is brand new, he started his complaints two days after the coop was built so I don't believe any of what he says is true.
"I know my rights, I live in a rural property, I can have up to 12 chickens if I want to. The coop is also within the legal boundary of the property."
Ren said he is giving away his chicks, and possibly also the rooster, to get the number down to the legal limit.
"We keep the chickens just for the eggs and to get the faeces as fertiliser."
Ren said Lee has also been on his property to check out the chickens without his consent.
"He is just a little bit pushy and a little bit rude. I will consider taking a restraining order if he keeps coming to my property without my consent," he said.
"I think if he wants to challenge me, then go for it. He doesn't have to try to create a media circus and things like that. He didn't approach me in a good manner from the beginning."
Ren said he would only get rid of the coop is if there was a court order.
Council manager of compliance response and investigations, Kerri Fergusson, said the council had to prioritise cases.
"The council works hard to respond to all complaints in a timely manner, but often we must prioritise those that pose the biggest risk to Aucklanders.
"This means that we may not be able to attend lower risk jobs and we will let people know if that is the case."
Fergusson said the complaint about Hobson Rd was considered low risk, which was why investigators were not able to attend to it.
"We advised the customer of this in an email."