The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 (with 4th District Supervisor Bob Nelson dissenting) to approve an ordinance that regulates the number of roosters on private properties to address noise complaints and illegal cockfighting concerns.
“When I was asking [my predecessor] about things that were tough on this board, he said, ‘You are going to find that animal issues are the most controversial,’” 5th District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino said during the meeting. “The problem is we’re often required to make rules that cover a wide swath because people have ill intentions—a few people, but sometimes you have to make rules that impact others that might not be covered under the same umbrella.”
The new ordinance would limit the number of roosters allowed based on property sizes in agricultural zones: with one rooster allowed on less than 1 acre; two roosters on properties between 1 and 5 acres; and five roosters on properties with more than 5 acres, according to county documents.
These changes also allow the Department of Animal Services to enforce these requirements; establish living and care standards for rooster keeping; require permitting for keeping more roosters than the limit; and provide exemptions for large poultry ranching, reasonable family uses, educational poultry projects, or other “legitimate” agricultural operations.
In the ordinance, a rooster is considered to be a chicken that does not lay eggs, has full adult plumage, is over 6 months old, and is capable of crowing, according to the ordinance.
Eighteen people came to speak during public comment, advocating either for an ordinance or for a landowner’s right to have roosters on their agricultural property. Cebada Canyon residents in particular were at the center of supervisors’ discussion as they have faced significant impacts of roosters near their properties.
“There is no good reason for anyone to own more than four or five roosters. It is well known that keeping large quantities of roosters means cockfighting,” Cebada Canyon residents Roy and Laurie Gentry wrote in a public comment letter. “The sport is extremely cruel and most definitely animal abuse.”
The Gentrys added that Cebada Canyon residents live there to enjoy the “normal” sounds of nature, not the noise pollution generated by hundreds of roosters crowing day and night, and asked supervisors to approve a new ordinance.
Conor Keegan, a Santa Ynez Valley resident and a member of the American Poultry Association who breeds livestock for purebred poultry shows and competitions, told the supervisors during public comment that he worries that his ability to breed chickens for these shows could be limited if the ordinance passed because his five to six roosters on a half-acre would no longer be allowed.
“It’s a living art to most of us and that’s what it is to me. The preservation of the rural areas would be paramount to me,” Keegan said.
While this ordinance is not intended to hamper show activities, Supervisor Nelson said he could not support the ordinance because he worries that this will limit hobbies like poultry shows in Santa Barbara County and hinder ag activity altogether.
“There’s a lot of passion in this room for that and they don’t want this hobby to go away. If you can’t do that in Santa Barbara County, where can you do that?” Nelson said. “I do support curbing cockfighting; I don’t like the way it was done but I do understand the frustration with the process. People are here for their hobby and something they won’t be able to do.”
This article appears in Jan 11-21, 2024.
