Fed up with neighbour's barking dogs, man adopts cockerel that crows day and night

The quiet neighbourhood of Vilablareix in Spain has been the stage for a dispute that has dragged on for over a year. It all started with complaints about a neighbour's barking dogs, according to Catalan newspaper Diari de Girona. Another resident of Farigola Street, who was asked to act as a mediator, failed to resolve the dispute—and ended up building a chicken coop in his own garden, a move that several neighbours have interpreted as an act of pure revenge.

For the last eight months, a cockerel has been crowing day and night. Some residents even claim that a loudspeaker is being used to artificially broadcast the bird's crowing. However, the cockerel's owner strongly denies this, claiming that the Catalan police have visited his home four times and found no such device. He also denies any desire for retaliation, insisting that his setup is perfectly legal.

A petition signed by 27 neighbours fails to bring peace

For the local residents, many of whom are elderly and have lived in the area for over 40 years, the noise is a very real nightmare. Several meetings have been held with the local council, and the disturbance has been documented in numerous videos. A new complaint, signed this time by 27 neighbours, was submitted to the town hall earlier this week—but officials reportedly said there was nothing they could do.

Cockerels in court: a surprisingly common dispute

Disputes over crowing cockerels are not unique to Spain. In France, a school in Saint-Étienne had to dismantle its educational chicken coop in 2021 following complaints from neighbours. But the most famous case remains that of Maurice the cockerel on the Island of Oléron. His owner won a court battle in 2019 after a judge ruled the noise was not excessive. This landmark case eventually led to a French law protecting the "sensory heritage" of the countryside.

This same law has since been used as a benchmark in other cases. In December 2023, a couple in Saône-et-Loire lost their case after complaining about their neighbour's cockerel. The court ruled that their neighbourhood was comparable to a rural hamlet, where this type of noise is legally protected.