Rossendale Council to crackdown on cries from cockerels (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Rossendale Council to crackdown on cries from cockerels

2:37pm Friday 19th October 2012 in News By Chris Adams

Rossendale Council to crackdown on cries from cockerels

AN EAST Lancashire council is refusing to sit on the fence when it comes to cockerel crowing — by issuing noise nuisance guidelines about the birds’ signature call.

Early morning crowing has attracted six complaints so far this year in Rossendale, but the council’s environmental health department said the advice was drawn up as a matter of course.

Hints and tips featured in the document include where the birds should be kept and how much light should be let into their coops.

Owners of persistent offenders will be issued with abatement notices and could even face fines of up to £5,000 if they can’t control their animals.

Those on commercial or industrial premises could even be hit with a bill for £20,000.

In 2010/11, Rossendale Council dealt with 117 animal noise complaints, although 110 of these were from barking dogs.

A spokesperson said: “The guidelines are not as a result of anything in particular, they are standard noise pollution measures. When people complain we give them a diary to fill in over a period of time - we can then assess that and take further action if needed.

“If we receive a complaint about noise we are obliged by law to investigate it.”

Officers will take into account the source of noise, the environment of noise, the duration of crowing, the time of day and how often it occurs when making their decision. One of the tips for owners advises them to keep the birds away from each other to avoid confrontation.

It states: “Other cockerels in the area will cause them to compete with each other and may result in excess crowing.”

Environmental health workers can also undertake site visits to witness the disturbance and use noise recording equipment.