Marion County grants permit for woman to have ‘emotional support roosters’

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Don’t fly the coop—one woman will keep two “emotional support roosters” at her Silver Springs home after Marion County commissioners granted a special permit for the animals.

The owner of the roosters, Alice Smith, asked for the special use permit after a complaint was made to the code enforcement board. Other neighbors wrote to code enforcement to express that they felt the roosters weren’t disrupting anyone.

“This is kind of a unique situation,” said County Attorney Guy Minter. “We don’t have these kinds of requests very often.”

The commissioners had initial concerns over potential disruptions from the crowing of the roosters in morning hours, and the open-ended nature of the permit, but were assured by staff.

To remedy this, some conditions were proposed for the owner to obtain the permit, including to have the roosters wear “no-crow collars” at all times to prevent them from making an excessive noise that would disrupt neighbors.

The breed of rooster, called a Silkie, is less likely to make noise than other breeds if they have company, Chair Michelle Stone said.

“We do have a nuisance ordinance underneath the animal control ordinances that I believe could encompass the roosters if it were to become an issue,” said Justin McClure, agricultural investigator for the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.

The owner’s neighbor commented during the meeting that she didn’t even feel that the collars were necessary, because she very rarely ever heard the roosters from her house.

The commission approved the permit without the requirement of the collars, in the interest of acting humanely toward the animals.