Council silences kindy's rooster

"Sorry you have died, Mr Rooster," says the hand-painted sign outside the Raumati South Community Kindergarten.

"I love you, bye-bye, Mr Rooster," says another.

The children's adopted rooster, who shared their food and their music time, was killed by a council animal control officer for being a stray and noise nuisance.

The kindergarten has held a memorial service for the pet.

The Kapiti Coast District Council is also sorry. It has apologised twice to the kindergarten.

Mr Rooster died, possibly from shock, after being shot at by the council officer following complaints from neighbours about early morning crowing.

Mayor Iride McCloy said: "The rooster made a lot of children happy - unfortunately, it made a lot of adults in our community very unhappy."

Head teacher Pettina Meads said staff at the kindergarten, which is on council land, had decided not to tell the children how Mr Rooster died.

The kindergarten committee would write to the council expressing concern over the incident, especially the council's failure to discuss Mr Rooster's fate.

Neighbours had complained that the crowing was waking families, and the rooster was running loose on the nearby council reserve.

A neighbour said she saw the council officer shoot twice into the kindergarten area from a reserve about 7.45 on Monday morning, before the children arrived.

But council spokesman Tony Cronin said one shot was fired when the bird was on the reserve.

He said the council had tried for three months to catch Mr Rooster, thinking he was a stray.