The owners of Ricco, a Bantam rooster from Bourgoin-Jallieu in France’s Isère region, are scheduled to appear in court following a neighbor’s complaint about the bird’s constant crowing.
“Difficulty concentrating, sleep deprivation, hearing fatigue” are among the accusations stated by the plaintiff, who has summoned Ricco’s owners to court, according to odditycentral.com.
The person, who prefers to remain anonymous, is a neighbor of the owners and alleges that the rooster’s crowing is unbearable both day and night.
However, the 5-year-old bird’s owners strenuously deny these charges, claiming that Ricco’s coop is monitored by an automated system that only opens the door at 8:30 a.m. in the winter and 9:00 a.m. in the summer. They claim that the rooster crows roughly fifteen times in a quarter of an hour in the morning, with only a few more crows throughout the day.
“There’s an automatic system in place that closes the coop door at 8 p.m. and opens it at 9 a.m. in summer, and at 8:30 a.m. in winter,”* explains Franck, Ricco’s owner. “When we first bought the rooster, we left the door open at 8:30 to prevent disturbing the neighbors. Later, we decided to open it at 9:00. But in the winter, we realized the chickens had stopped laying eggs because they required more light. So now we open at 8:30 in the winter and 9:00 in the summer.”
The couple, who relocated from the city to Bourgoin-Jallieu 25 years ago for a more peaceful rural lifestyle, are taken aback by their neighbour’s legal action.
They first sought mediation through town hall, but when that failed, the neighbour decided to take them to court. According to Franck, he has spoken with all of their neighbours—except the complainant—and none have expressed worry over Ricco’s crowing.
“We went to see all the neighbours, we know quite a few because we have lived here for 25 years,” * Franck reacted. We asked if our rooster bothered them. Everyone we spoke with said the rooster didn’t bother them.
On the contrary, they wanted to hear the rooster crow.
The plaintiff, who moved to Bourgoin-Jallieu in 2021, argues that Ricco’s loud crowing has interfered with her ability to enjoy her garden and caused sleepless nights. She is looking for a change in the circumstances.
The legal controversy centers on the French law of January 29, 2021, which seeks to “define and protect the sensory heritage of the French countryside.” Ricco’s proprietors assert that they live in a “traditionally rural environment,” although their neighbor claims that the Boussieu district is no longer rural. A court is scheduled to rule on the case early next year.
Despite the seeming levity of the situation, such arguments are regarded seriously in France. This is the third case in recent years, following the famed incidents with Caruso and Maurice, two other loud roosters.
In Caruso’s case, his elderly owner was given three months to halt the bird’s crowing, lamenting, “My village is losing its rural character, selling its soul and land for urban development.”
Ricco has discovered an unexpected ally on social media. A Facebook support page has been built in his honor, with supporters encouraging him to continue crowing. Supporters argue that people offended by his “singing” should simply go away if they can’t stand the noise.
