Bourbon-soaked barley has helped the Buller District Council catch raucous roosters.
For months, people have been dumping unwanted roosters in the Westport Domain, beside the Buller River, said Mayor Garry Howard.
"There were 13 strutting their stuff around the domain and then with autumn, three rebels decided to cross the road and put up in a magnolia tree."
He said the roosters migrated across each night and started crowing in the early hours.
The council's animal control officers were called in to help keep the peace. First they tried nets, then a cage but that was stolen before the roosters were apprehended.