Uneven enforcement of noise ordinances

According to my town clerk, there are noise ordinances on file, but "they are not enforced." From what I gather, from 9pm to 7am is "quiet time".

There are no ordinances against "human voices", ie. children next door can scream and let out blood curdling screams all day. There are ordinances concerning "electronics and machinery". i.e., I can use a jackhammer, leaf blower, lawnmower, hole digger, etc. in my yard as long as between 7am and 9pm. Motorcycles with straight pipes are riding by daily, rattling my windows.

However, with all this going on, my dogs cannot go out into the back yard and bark. The neighborhood is noisy, and when there is a high level of activity, my dogs start barking. The animal control officer is called to my house by the neighbors.

This appears to be rather discriminatory (my neighbors hate animals) .....do I have any recourse here?

The difference is the type of noise. There is what is called everyday noises and nuisance noises. Everyday noises are generated from people doing things as part of there daily routine. Nuisance noises are considered controllable and unnecessary. I know I would not want to have to listen to dogs barking, there is no need for dogs to bark all day. It is up to you to properly control the dogs and prevent them from barking. I would suggest training for the dogs or moving to the country where it would be tolerated a little more.

Racer,
Thank you for your thoughtful response. I am pursuing training for the dogs.