A Surrey councillor said the city might looking into moving some controversial peacocks out of a Sullivan-area neighbourhood.
Mike Starchuk, city councillor for Surrey, said the city is wrestling with the idea to possibly act as a “facilitator” to move the birds to a sanctuary in Langley.
The move is especially relevant now that a tree the peacocks had been living in has been cut down.
“There’s no by-law, nothing else that’s out there that specifically deals with this kind of situation,” Starchuk said.
WATCH: How did peacocks become a staple of this Surrey community?
Sara Dubois with the BC SPCA, said the animal shelter “has their hands tied” in dealing with the dozens of peacocks that live in the neighbourhood. But she specified that “it’s up to the city” to address the issue she described as an “animal control” problem.
Originally the peacocks had been living in the area located at 150th Street and 62nd Avenue, last summer one of those peacocks gave birth to her chicks on the doorstep of a nearby home.
The peacocks had been living in this Surrey location for nearly a decade before their home was cut down in April by a next door neighbour.
- Three B.C. men fined, banned from hunting after killing pregnant deer
- B.C. child-killer’s attempt to keep new identity secret draws widespread outrage
- Inquest hears B.C. hostage was lying on her captor before fatal shooting
- ‘We’ve had to make a 180’: What Oregonians say they got wrong with decriminalization
In a previous interview with Global News, the homeowner said “40 peacocks” invaded his home every night, “dripped all over” his back yard and “ripped off” his roof.
He said he begged the city for three years to do something about the peafowl but the city came up empty handed.
The Surrey resident then took matters into his own hands and cut down the tree, but has since been issued a $1,000 fine for chopping down the peacock’s home without a permit.
The city says it could still issue him a fine for as much as $10,000. And ironically, the now homeless peacocks have taken up residence on his roof.
Starchuk said this situation is by far “one of the top ten strange situations” he’s had to deal with as a city councillor.
-With files from the Canadian Press
Comments