North shore residents decry rooster menacing suburb with 3am wake-up calls

By Finn Blackwell of RNZ

Residents on Auckland’s North Shore have rallied behind a poster searching for a troublesome bird in the suburb of Birkenhead.

The poster asks ‘Is this your rooster?’ before decrying the bird’s habit of waking up the illustrator’s family at 3am.

A picture of the poster appeared on the Birkenhead and Northcote community Facebook page.

Julian, who signed the poster, reckoned the rooster’s enthusiasm for early mornings was “psychotic” and said his family had suggested cooking the fowl - or relocating it to Ponsonby.

It also included some choice words to describe the bird.

The poster has been shared across social media, with some users starting the hashtag ‘Save the rooster’.

“Look on him as a blessing. You’d be more upset if you never woke up,” said one user.

“Best post ever,” said another.

Residents on Auckland's North Shore have rallied behind the poster. Photo / Facebook

The poster was signed off with a final plea: “Please come get him, thanks.”

Auckland Council said keeping poultry was covered by the Animal Management Bylaw, under which it was illegal to own a rooster in an urban area without prior permission.

The council said they understood wild poultry, particularly roosters, could cause significant nuisance, but because the bylaw related to owned animals, it could only take enforcement action where an owner was present.

“Wild poultry causing nuisance can be humanely trapped by residents and taken to the SPCA or another animal rescue organisation equipped to care for, and re-home, poultry.”