Unruly cocks cause chaos

'Don't abandon unwanted poultry', says MWT

How do you solve a problem like a cockerel?

That's the question commissioners in the north have been tussling with recently, as they try to deal with a colony of abandoned cockerels in Sulby Valley.

The dawn call of a rooster is a sound known to many of us on our rural Island home, but imagine being awoken from your slumber by thirty of them!

That was the reality for residents in Tholt-y-Will, whose remote location has become a dumping ground for cockerels which are surplus to requirements.

When you find yourself with a loud and laddy cockerel on your hands, it may seem a logical and humane solution to set the bird free, rather than opting for the gory job of 'dispatching' them.

However, as Vivien Quane, Chair of Lezayre Commissioners explained, abandoning domesticated animals in the wild can cause real problems for a community:

But it's not just about the longtails; Laura McCoy from Manx National Heritage, and Graham Makepeace-Warne from the Manx Wildlife Trust say the ecological impact should not be underestimated: