Maine Town Sues Owner of Rooster Because He Won’t Shut Up

The rooster is just being a rooster. It just happens to be at four in the morning.

Cockle doodle doo! It's cute in cartoons, but when you are the neighbor of someone with a rooster who starts his crowing every day around four in the morning...not so cute. You might feel a little like this...

This bothersome rooster is at a house in the middle of Old Town, Maine. His innate need to crow is really bugging neighbors. Just ask the Code Enforcement Officer David Russel. He told the Bangor Daily News,

I’ve driven by during the day, and I can hear from out on the street.

The town has told the owner, Mona Dougherty, that her rooster is in violation of an Old Town ordinance where you can't have livestock or poultry in single-family and general residence-zoned areas.  They've asked her for a year to please get rid of the rooster. And now, they've filed a lawsuit to have a court force her to remove the loud alarm clock.

Old Town has been busy suing people who are violating city ordinances about animals. Another couple is being sued for keeping a barrel of corn to feed the deer. But back to the rooster. The rooster's owner is being asked to please remove all poultry from her property, and pay a per-day fine for violating the ordinance. There's a hearing scheduled for November 16.

Don't think Old Town loves filing lawsuits. It's a last resort, and if anyone clears up the problem before a court date, the case is dropped.  Bill Mayo, the City Manager, says that if they don't have to court to court, they don't want to go to court. Who wants to go to court over a chicken? Sorry, a rooster.

Old Town has been aware of the rooster since last November. Over the last year, the city has gotten complaints about the loud bird at "all hours of the day and night" according to the lawsuit. I hope Mr. Rooster finds a happy home where he can do his thing and no one is bothered.