Licensee to go to court to save noisy pet cockerel

The licensee of a Kent pub could be fined £20,000 by his local council if he fails to stop his pet cockerel from crowing.

Peter Palmer, who runs the Harp in the rural village of East Peckham, Tonbridge, said the cock-a-doodle-doo from his pet cockerel Corky is no worse than cows mooing or church bells ringing.

And he has told The Publican that rather than get rid of the cockerel - which is extremely popular with his customers and their children - he will go to court and risk losing his livelihood.

Mr Palmer said: "If I had to let the bird go I would be gutted. People come from miles around with their children to see the cockerel and feed the ducks. This is the countryside. The council is wasting thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money to pursue one complaint from one individual."

The council had asked him to soundproof the shed but he refused as he was concerned that the cockerel would peck off the material, which could poison it.

"My other option is to bring the bird inside the pub at night - which I'm sure wouldn't go down very well with environmental health. My only other choice is to get rid of it - which I'm not going to do," he said.

Hundreds of the pub's customers have signed a petition to save Corky and the licensees have created a collage of press cuttings about the cockerel's plight.

The news has reached as far as Canada where it featured on a radio show and has led to overseas visitors coming to Tonbridge to meet Corky.

"The story has appeared on a Canadian radio station and we have a lot of supporters in many other countries who can't believe the council are doing this," said Mr Palmer. "They have even come to see Corky to get their picture taken with him."

But despite this the council is adamant it is taking the matter all the way to the courts.

Barry Olding, chief environment health officer at Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council, said: "We've been in discussion for some months with Mr Palmer and have given him every opportunity to resolve the matter."

When asked why it wasn't investigating another cockerel in the town, he said this was because the other cockerel had not had any complaints made about it.