West Coast man selling house as neighbours won't get rid of annoying rooster

The rooster had been waking the man as early as 3.20am since April. Photo / 123RF

A raucous rooster next door has prompted a Hector, West Coast man to fly the coop and forced the Buller District Council to review a powerless bylaw.

The rooster had been waking the man as early as 3.20am since April, he told The Westport News yesterday.

The council's animal control department has visited the bird's owners, on whom the police served a written warning for abusive language, and Buller Mayor Garry Howard has tried unsuccessfully to broker a solution.

The 62-year-old complainant, who asked not to be named, met Howard again yesterday afternoon.

Howard said the council was hamstrung by its bylaw - the same bylaw used by councils throughout New Zealand. The bylaw said no one should keep a noisy animal, bird or poultry which caused a nuisance.

"The problem with this bylaw is, it doesn't give council's officers powers to remove or potentially fine the owners of the animals," Howard said.

"We are going to have to look at reviewing our animal bylaw to ensure we get some enforcement mechanism. It's only been brought about with this case at Hector."

Other councils relied on "neighbourly common sense and goodwill", he said.

"The last thing councils want to do is get people into court action, which is expensive and generally it becomes a dividing situation rather than good community spirit."

The council's policy review committee would review the bylaw, but changing it would take at least three months, he said.

The complainant said he had put his house on the market because he couldn't stand the rooster's crowing any longer. Last night he was heading to Greymouth to stay with family for a few days. He could only last about three days in his Hector home before the rooster forced him to go elsewhere to get a night's sleep, he said.

He had begun a diary, logging each time the rooster crowed. According to the entries, the ruckus started long before daylight and didn't stop until late morning or early afternoon.

Yesterday, it began at 4.26am and continued until 11.20am.

"I have put up with it for a long time and I have had a gutsful ... I was pretty tolerant and I'm a tolerant person, but enough is enough," the man said.

It's not the first time the council's had to deal with rowdy roosters.

In May last year it fielded complaints from people living near the Westport domain after 13 unwanted roosters were dumped there. Three crossed the road and took up residence in a magnolia tree.

After unsuccessfully trying to catch them, council animal control officers scattered barley soaked in bourbon and scooped up the inebriated birds. They were dispatched to rural areas and heavenly pastures.

- Westport News