Locals abuzz with rage over Adelaide Hills Council’s proposed crackdown on roosters, bees at residential township properties
A cherished and beloved Adelaide Hills tradition faces the axe under a proposed council crackdown in certain towns. See who’s being stung here.
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Outraged Adelaide Hills locals say an influx of city slickers is to blame for a “ridiculous” council proposal to crack down on bees and roosters kept on residential properties.
Under a new by-law proposed by Adelaide Hills Council, residents of designated townships would not be allowed to keep bees, roosters, pigeons and livestock at their residential properties without the council’s approval.
Acting Mayor Nathan Daniell said the new rule was “being considered in response to community complaints, including bees from hives entering neighbouring properties and the noise of crowing roosters, particularly in townships”.
He said the council would assess requests to keep the animals against PIRSA guidelines.
“We acknowledge the vital role that livestock and beekeeping plays in the character, economy, and sustainability of our rural areas,” Mr Daniell said.
“This proposed by-law applies only within township boundaries and does not affect rural properties such as primary producers.”
The rule would apply to 24 townships in the Hills region, including Stirling, Woodside, Gumeracha, Aldgate, Lobethal and Bridgewater.
Stirling resident Adrienne Janes, 60, keeps a beehive at her property and said the council’s proposal was “awful”.
“My dad did it over 60 years ago in the Hills, and there are lots of people all over the Hills that are passionate about their bees and I think it’s just disgusting,” she said.
Ms Janes said “bees don’t generally bother people” and the proposal was part of the “urbanisation of the Hills”.
“It’s an amazing hobby,” she said. “It’s great for the environment; it’s great for community.
“You get very attached to them (the bees). I call them my girls. Every interaction with them is just so interesting and so different.”
Matt Thomas, whose business Inglewood Bees sells bees and provides support to hobbyist beekeepers, said the majority of his customers were in the Hills and about one in five would be affected by the proposed by-law.
“When hobbyists first get bees they’re amazed at the increased pollination in their garden and for fruit trees,” he said. “Their neighbours will be benefiting from it also – their bees will pollinate half the town.”
Mr Thomas said the council’s restrictions would not get rid of bees because for every hobbyist beehive, there were ten natural beehives.
The anger was hot on a community Facebook page, where one commenter said “people move up here from the city and then want locals to kowtow to their demands”.
“It’s easy – don’t move to the country if you don’t like country sounds,” another said.
The council’s website said residents who already own the offending animals would be allowed to keep them.
A council poultry fact sheet said roosters were “not desirable in a township area because of the disruptive noise factor”.
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Originally published as Locals abuzz with rage over Adelaide Hills Council’s proposed crackdown on roosters, bees at residential township properties
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