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Center for Biological Diversity:
Birds
Providence Journal, September 25, 2012

Warwick woman appeals $15 fine for cussing cockatoo

By Mark Reynolds

WARWICK, R.I. -- A Warwick woman who was fined $15 for noise made by her vulgar cockatoo has decided to take the case to the next level and appeal to Superior Court.

Municipal Court Judge Joel Gerstenblatt on Sept. 17 determined the bird's owner, Lynne L. Taylor, had violated an ordinance that prohibits residents from letting pets create a habitual howling, barking or other noise.

Taylor appealed the ruling the same day on constitutional grounds, her lawyer, Stephen M. Peltier, said Tuesday. The Warwick noise ordinance is unconstitutional, he said, because it provides no parameters that let someone know if a pet's noise is a violation.

"Warwick's statute merely says if it annoys somebody, it's a public nuisance," Peltier said.

This article originally appeared here.

Photo © Paul S. Hamilton