Why Are So Many Roosters Living in Santa Barbara County?

There’s the old adage how people shouldn’t move to the country and then complain about roosters crowing in the morning, but the concentration of densely populated rooster hot spots on specific parcels of ag in North County has the county supervisors concerned these operations might be supplying the birds for cock-fighting. Whether that’s the case or not, the noise has given rise to many complaints from neighbors and, according to Supervisor Joan Hartmann, at least one resident who introduced the measure to get a new ordinance passed and then reportedly sold their home and moved. 

Although the Sheriff’s Office is aware of certain spots having “unusually high rooster-to-hen ratios,” there’s no data to link this to cock-fighting, which brings with it potential links to gambling, drugs, and drinking. Supervisors Hartmann and Bob Nelson both represent agricultural districts where the issue has grown problematic. Hartmann and Nelson both termed the rooster hot spots — where there are said to be dozens, if not hundreds, of roosters concentrated — a neighborhood nuisance if nothing else. To the extent they are linked to cock-fighting, they said, it’s a matter of animal cruelty. 

Hartmann presented a model ordinance passed by Los Angeles County that limits the number of roosters per parcel without a permit. That, Hartmann said, was just a starting point. The legwork required to arrive at an eventual legislative finish line would require the combined efforts of Animal Control, the Agricultural Commissioner’s Office, and the County Counsel’s Office. The supervisors passed the proposal to draft an ordinance unanimously. No one spoke in favor or against.