Animal Noise
Dogs, cockerels, parrots, rabbits and farm animals have all resulted in noise complaints. The following provides some guidance on how you can take your own action to resolve these concerns. Environmental health may provide some informal assistance in the process, but this will be dependent on other workload priorities.
With all animal noise related complaints we would advise that you first attempt to informally resolve the issue by speaking to the owner in order to try and resolve the issue without formal intervention. This will always be the council's first piece of advice.
If informal intervention does not help improve the situation then we may write to the owners advising them of concerns raised and their responsibilities as animal owners. More than often this will lead to the situation improving gradually and no further intervention is required. If this is not the case then we would suggest you pursue your own legal action to help resolve the problem. The noise diary (PDF, 92 KB)(opens new window) will allow you to present evidence of the concern if further action is pursued.
Dog Barking
We receive a number of complaints about dog barking every year. Please see our web page on Dog Barking for information on:
- How to resolve the issue yourself;
- How we deal with an unresolved dog barking issue.
- How to pursue your own legal action.
Poultry
Poultry keeping is becoming more popular, but neighbours may not appreciate cockerels welcoming the dawn each day. For advice on poultry keeping, see Poultry Keeping.
Complaints about noise from cockerels are always best discussed informally with the owner first as they may not be aware that there is an issue. Where this does not improve the situation, Environmental Health may provide informal follow up in writing to the animal owner. However, please note that cockerel noise concerns have a lower priority than other work carried out by Environmental Health and therefore a response will only be provided when volumes of higher priority work permit.
Other Animals
If you have problem with noise from a neighbour's animal, it's always best to discuss it informally with them first. They may not be aware that it is causing problems for others. Where this does not improve the situation, Environmental Health Contact Details may provide informal follow up in writing to the animal owner. However, we are unlikely to pursue complaints concerning animals on working farms.
Taking your own action
Residents can take their own legal action against the owners of noisy animals.This process is usually much faster than formal action by local authorities and can be used in a number of cases where the local authority cannot take action due to the noise concern not being deemed a statutory nuisance under the law An outline of the options available is provided at the bottom of the Dog Barking page.
