May 4, 2018

The Friday File: Peacocks Muster in Surrey Neighbourhood

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If you’ve ever travelled to India, Sri Lanka, Java or Myanmar, you may have stayed in a place that had peacocks. They look pretty magnificent, but you will find out why many people who keep these birds either get up early in the morning or wear earplugs at night.
Hear for yourself what a peacock sounds like in this YouTube video.
Imagine the noise (and the attendant excrement) of dozens of these birds living in a neighbourhood in Surrey B.C. 
They’re feral, left behind from an abandoned farm, and are estimated to number between 40 to 150 as reported to the CBC.
The birds are between jurisdictions — they’re not domesticated pets, and they’re not really wild animals, so there’s no easy way to deal with them. While some neighbours think they’re fine, others have had enough.
Including one resident who has peacocks on his roof and in a street tree. Upon his complaint about the birds in this street tree, the City of Surrey could not offer a remedy. So, the homeowner arranged to cut the tree down, allegedly to get the birds to move.
Of course, the City moved in to fine the homeowner $1,000 for cutting down the tree, and of course the birds were still on his roof and in his backyard. As the homeowner stated, the noise is constant, and “we can’t enjoy our backyard. We have to put bird netting to protect our garden. It’s hard to deal with it. Screaming is like … you don’t need an alarm in your house. They’ll wake you up early morning, like three o’clock. It’s crazy, man.”
Certainly, cutting the tree down has meant that a community meeting will now be held to discuss who is responsible for the peacocks. These birds live from ten to twenty-five years and are generally much-beloved (at least, to those who don’t live within earshot), so any decision about their fate is no small matter.
And a group of peacocks? It’s called a “muster”.


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