Daily Mail

Cock-a-doodle-don’t

Roosters face the chop after being silenced by courts

- By Chris Brooke

THE dawn crowing of cockerels has been a feature of countrysid­e life for centuries.

But the morning chorus on one farm has been silenced by magistrate­s, who insist the birds have no place on land close to a village.

Animal lover Jess Marson, 33, could be forced to kill her seven cockerels, who crow early in the morning from a smallholdi­ng on a field that has been part of a farm for more than a century.

The council imposed a noise abatement order after neighbour Gary Leader and his wife complained the crowing was disturbing their sleep.

Miss Marson, an HGV driver, stood her ground despite being prosecuted for failing to reduce the noise.

But after three appearance­s before magistrate­s, Miss Marson has admitted failing to comply with noise abatement notices and signed an undertakin­g to remove the cockerels.

She was given a two-year conditiona­l discharge and ordered to pay £1,000 towards prosecutio­n costs. Miss Marson keeps goats, a pig, geese, hens and ducks as well as chickens, including the cockerels, on land leased from a working farm.

Court bills mean she has moved further away from the village of Scissett, near Huddersfie­ld, and is considerin­g the future of all of her animals.

Prosecutor Ian Mullarkey told Kirklees Magistrate­s’ Court that Mr Leader lived close enough to be disturbed by the animals. ‘He complained that his sleep was being disturbed by cockerels crowing and affected him and his wife’s sleep,’ he said.

The council’s environmen­tal health officer visited Mr Leader’s home at 5.30am in April and found the cocks’ crowing was ‘intrusive and at a level and frequency to prevent sleep and prevent the average person returning to sleep’. Over following mornings, environmen­tal health officers returned and heard the cocks’ crowing through closed bedroom windows.

On one occasion five cockerels could be heard crowing 34 times in 13 minutes.

Miss Marson was served with a noise abatement order, but made no effort to silence the birds.

On another early-morning visit, the cockerels were heard to crow 146 times in 30 minutes, Mr Mullarkey told the court.

‘Mr Leader said the impact of the crowing and its frequency intrusiven­ess has affected his quality of living and the enjoyment of his property,’ he added.

‘Now, Miss Marson has agreed to give an undertakin­g she will remove the cockerels from the land within 28 days and she will not bring or have any more cockerels on the land in any time after.’

Ben Bell, mitigating, said his client had attended court three times and it was ‘regrettabl­e’ that

‘Humanely euthanised’

it had taken that many occasions to ‘resolve’ the situation.

Bench chairman Benedetto Paolozzi told Miss Marson: ‘The council started to engage with you and curb the time the cockerels were disturbing residents. You did not engage with the council. The cockerels were crowing at an unreasonab­le time and at a level that would ruin a normal person’s sleep and enjoyment of their own home.’

Miss Marson said: ‘I will be getting rid of the cockerels.

‘I’ve got four weeks to find a home for them, but not everyone wants cockerels and if necessary they will have to be humanely euthanised. I am looking for someone to give them a home.’

 ?? ?? Animal lover: Jess Marson with one of her cockerels
Animal lover: Jess Marson with one of her cockerels

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