A tenant has been asked by his landlord to remove seven cockerels from his garden in Cambridge after neighbours got tired of the amount of noise and complained to the council. Environmental health officers investigated the complaint made against Paul Boon, and his landlord has now asked him to remove the birds as soon as possible as they are not covered by his property insurance for landlords.
Mr Boon does not just keep cockerels; he also keeps ducks, chickens, owls, geese, cats and dogs in his large garden. He argued that crowing was a country sound and his neighbours should expect country sounds in what is classed as a country village. He is very worried about his geese as they can make noise when it is feeding time and he expects his neighbours will complain about them next.
A spokesperson from East Cambridgeshire District Council said: “Following complaints, environmental health officers monitored the noise caused by the cockerels and found that they were creating a nuisance for neighbours. That information was passed to the landlord, who decided what action to take with regard to the birds.”
The property is owned by Sanctury Housing, who have many homes in the area which are all covered by landlord insurance. They have always been aware of the animals in the garden and were happy for Mr Boon to look after them as long as there were no complaints about the smell or noise. However, the complaints by neighbours led environmental health officers to demand the landlords take action about the situation. Despite his protests Mr Boon has decided to relinquish ownership of the birds to maintain his tenancy of the property. He will be taking the animals to a nearby farm which is happy to take them.