Good afternoon all,
Every morning at between 5:45 and 6:15 the neighbor takes her parrot and places it on their porch...which is right next to our bedroom window. The thing then starts with its hellish screaming. This goes on and off until about 6:30 at night, when they take it inside again.
We have got small kids so we put up with it for about a year, since it is pretty much a shouting match on our side of the fence as well. With the obvious difference that we don't start at 5:45 in the morning, and we at least try and teach our kids to be respectful of the neighbors. During this time I replaced the small wire fence/hedge with a 7 foot wall, to which I asked the neighbor to contribute, but she couldn't at the time because of financial reasons. So that was done at my cost (R17 000).
So after a year, my wife sent the neighbor a friendly "Please can you try and accommodate us..." blah blah message. To which we basically got back a "live with it" reply.
According to my research so far, the frequency of the scream of a parrot is the equivalent to that of a working/cutting angle grinder! The noise from a pet is also to be seen in the same way as that of a power tool. Let me explain: you are allowed to use it, as your dog is allowed to bark, or parrot is allowed to scream BUT not continuously (like using the grinder for a business home) and without doing something about it. The above is according to the Cape Town and Tshwane noise pollution by-laws.
I have been advised to contact my ward Councillor (DA), which might just be the right next step. But I wanted to get some other opinions (a legal letter maybe). I know the police can't/won't help (full plates with "real" issues and all).
Please note, even though I love animals, I just don't see the point in having an exotic pet kept locked up in a cage. And please no "shoot it comments"... I understand that in some cases African Grey's are used for counselling purposes.
Every morning at between 5:45 and 6:15 the neighbor takes her parrot and places it on their porch...which is right next to our bedroom window. The thing then starts with its hellish screaming. This goes on and off until about 6:30 at night, when they take it inside again.
We have got small kids so we put up with it for about a year, since it is pretty much a shouting match on our side of the fence as well. With the obvious difference that we don't start at 5:45 in the morning, and we at least try and teach our kids to be respectful of the neighbors. During this time I replaced the small wire fence/hedge with a 7 foot wall, to which I asked the neighbor to contribute, but she couldn't at the time because of financial reasons. So that was done at my cost (R17 000).
So after a year, my wife sent the neighbor a friendly "Please can you try and accommodate us..." blah blah message. To which we basically got back a "live with it" reply.
According to my research so far, the frequency of the scream of a parrot is the equivalent to that of a working/cutting angle grinder! The noise from a pet is also to be seen in the same way as that of a power tool. Let me explain: you are allowed to use it, as your dog is allowed to bark, or parrot is allowed to scream BUT not continuously (like using the grinder for a business home) and without doing something about it. The above is according to the Cape Town and Tshwane noise pollution by-laws.
I have been advised to contact my ward Councillor (DA), which might just be the right next step. But I wanted to get some other opinions (a legal letter maybe). I know the police can't/won't help (full plates with "real" issues and all).
Please note, even though I love animals, I just don't see the point in having an exotic pet kept locked up in a cage. And please no "shoot it comments"... I understand that in some cases African Grey's are used for counselling purposes.
