Roosters were back on the agenda at the Monterey County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday, Oct. 1.
“Monterey County has one of the loosest regulations in the state on this matter,” Supervisor Glenn Church said at the meeting.
The rooster ordinance passed in 2015 as a way to prevent illegal cockfighting and set humane standards for housing the animals, requiring people living in unincorporated areas of the county with more than five roosters to have a permit or receive an exemption. But the language in the ordinance is ambiguous, thereby making it difficult to enforce.
“A few months ago, someone in Aromas had about 200-250 roosters. It was addressed, but it point[ed] to a larger problem,” Church says.
Church requested the county revisit its ordinance following the introduction of a state assembly bill. The bill states that owning more than 25 roosters is a violation unless the owner can prove they aren’t used for cockfighting.
Locally, this falls on county agencies, making enforcement labor-intensive. Complicating matters further, Monterey County allows up to 499 roosters in certain zones.
While citations can be issued for failing to obtain a permit, fines haven’t been effective, and the ordinance doesn’t allow for the removal of birds.
“We’d like to review the ordinance and streamline it based on what we’ve seen over the last few years,” says Cindy Burgham, Animal Services Administrator at the Monterey County Health Department. “We also want to hold property owners accountable by having them prove no illegal activities are taking place.”