WE’RE AS SICK AS A PARROT
Pieces of hate! Bizarre legal battle as squawking birds Charlie and Bella drive neighbours mad (and it all ends up in front of the beak...)
WITH their vibrant blue and gold feathers, they are among the most colourful native animals of the Amazon rainforest.
But several thousand miles from their natural habitat, a pair of parrots are at the centre of a bizarre battle being fought in a courtroom.
The birds, Charlie and Bella, are caught up in a dispute between neighbours in a leafy part of a Perthshire town, backing on to one of Scotland’s finest golf courses.
Retired farmer Iain Gauld’s pair of breeding birds have been accused of causing their neighbours distress and sleepless nights with their loud squawking and screeching.
Engineering consultant John Watson has launched an ‘annoying creatures’ legal action at Perth’s Justice of the Peace Court to have the birds silenced.
In the application, under Section 49 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, Mr Watson states: ‘The respondent keeps large parrots in an outside cage. The parrots screech and squawk very, very loudly at random times of the day, EVERY day from 5am to 10pm.
‘It is very distressing to us, being nearest, and all other surrounding households.’
At the couple’s home in Blairgowrie, his wife Liz said: ‘The house next door was empty for years, then they moved in last year. There was no problem through the winter because they must have been kept
‘They screech very, very loudly EVERY day’
in the house, but it was in the spring when the noises started.’
She added: ‘The cage is probably at the nearest point to our garden. They do screech intermittently. John is easy-going but he is really upset and has dug his heels in.
‘We have learned a lot about them. They are beautiful creatures. They come from the Amazon rainforest and normally sleep for 12 hours a day. But there have been disturbances throughout the day. The noise would give you a jolt.
‘I don’t like confrontation, especially not with neighbours. We came from suburbia in East Kilbride and have begun to wonder if we bought the wrong house after six years living in it.’
Mrs Watson said the couple had mounting legal fees fighting the case and claimed Mr Gauld told them: ‘If it’s war you want, you’ll get it.’
In court, Mr Gauld said:
‘With these parrots it is like outbursts and they are related to daylight hours. They go to sleep at about 6pm when the light goes and you don’t hear from them again until 8.30 or 9am the following morning. We are going into winter and shorter days so I don’t see it being an issue. They are a pair and the female is sitting on a clutch of eggs.
‘We have a pair of jays nesting nearby. I have got a recording of them and they sound similar. I am not saying the parrots are not making a noise but it is in short outbursts, then they stop. I know a minute can seem like a long time… This is one-sided.’
Mr Watson replied: ‘Regarding the noise of the jays, I would need to multiply that ten or 20 times to get to the volume of the parrots.’
JP Paul Walker told Mr Gauld: ‘I appreciate we are here today over a neighbour’s distress and nuisance being caused by your parrots.
‘I have to balance the fact this suggested nuisance will continue for weeks until we can convene a hearing. I believe Mr Gauld was not appraised of the fact there was legal representation on the other side and they had a significant number of witnesses. I am not seeing an equality of arms here.’ He continued the case for a month.
Mr Watson’s solicitor said: ‘In terms of short daylight hours, the timing doesn’t take the nuisance away. I ask the court to ensure there is no further push back with likelihood of the nuisance continuing.’
At his £700,000 Art Deco home backing on to Blairgowrie Golf Club, Mr Gauld explained that the parrots acted as therapy pets for his wife Sandra.
He said the parrots had been housed in the most sheltered part of his garden and it was a considerable distance from the closest part of the Watsons’ home. However, he declined to comment on the case.
Charlie, meanwhile, munched on Wotsits and peanuts, oblivious to the furore and awaiting the hatching of his partner’s eggs.