Wednesday, February 17, 1999
Roosters have to go, court rules
New dawn may be quieter for neighbors
BY STEVE KEMME
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MIDDLETOWN — Ohio's 12th District Court of Appeals has given the neighbors of a Reily Township rooster owner something to crow about.
The appeals court Tuesday upheld a Butler County Common Pleas Court decision that declared the roosters a noise nuisance and restricted Bobby Webb to owning no more than five roosters.
The number of his feathered friends at times has been as high as 100 since he moved to his 5-acre property south of Oxford three years ago and began raising roosters.
Some of his neighbors have complained that the roosters' loud, constant crowing from sunrise to sunset makes it impossible for them to enjoy the outdoors or to keep their windows open in warm weather.
“To limit him to five roosters on five acres in an agricultural zone is an extremely restrictive use of the property,” said Mr. Webb's attorney, James Cooney.
Mr. Webb says he raises the roosters to show in competi tions at fairs. But in his 1998 decision on the case, Judge John Moser of Butler County Common Pleas Court said he believed Mr. Webb was raising the roosters for cockfighting, an activity that's illegal in Ohio. Mr. Webb has denied that.
The legal scratching and clawing isn't over. Mr. Webb will take the case to the Ohio Supreme Court, Mr. Cooney said.
“I can assure you that with the supporters he has, he's strong in his commitment,” he said. “There are some constitutional issues here. They're taking away his property rights without any just cause.”
The joy the appeals court ruling brought to the three Butler County families who have fought Mr. Webb was tempered by the likelihood that he will appeal the decision.
“We're thrilled,” said John Kogge, one of the people who filed a lawsuit against Mr. Webb. “But so far, it's a hollow victory. When he actually has to move his roosters off his property, then we will consider it a real victory.”
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