Ruffled feathers: feral peacocks split community in Canada

Tensions have come to a head over the fate of dozens of wild peacocks that have taken up residence on a street near Vancouver

Aryn Strickland in Surrey

Sat 5 May 2018 12.00 BSTLast modified on Mon 7 May 2018 22.32 BST

For a decade, a group of feral peacocks have divided the community of Sullivan Heights. Some of the residents of this suburban neighbourhood outside Vancouver love the birds, who have taken up residence in the local trees; others say they are kept awake by the peacocks’ screeching.

For Parminder Brar, the final straw came last year, when he says his father injured himself slipping on peacock excrement on Brar’s property. He formally issued a request to take down the tree where the peacocks had built a nest. The city turned him down.

So, this week, Brar cut down the tree himself.

The move has sparked a furore in Sullivan Heights, angering his neighbours and potentially earning Brar a fine of up to $10,000.

“The majority of us love them. They add value to the neighbourhood,” says Katie Taylor, who has lived on the street for 12 years.

Unlike their native counterpart, the Canada geese who periodically stop by and can be aggressive, the peacocks have proven to be peaceful neighbours.

“We haven’t seen any aggression from the peacocks,” Taylor says. “You can feed them from your hands.”

Continued