Peafowl population to be humanely thinned out
As all things in the Grove seem to be coming to an end (including us), the City Commission voted unanimously on Thursday that peafowl (peacocks) can be removed from the Grove neighborhoods - humanely, through a management plan also used by a town in California.
It's bittersweet as the peafowl are a part of Coconut Grove, yet they do lots of damage to property, they proliferate, obstruct traffic and they are quite loud when they shout out.
In Ranco Palos Verdes, California, they claim that having less peafowl works better for the area. They are not removing all of them, and they will not all be removed in the Grove either.
The plan still needs to be hatched (see how I did that?) but over time, you'll probably see (and hear) less of them as you make your way through the Grove.
Here are a bunch of past peacock stories - real peacocks and the fiberglass painted peacocks from our famous Coconut Grove Peacock Tour a decade ago.
posted by Tom Falco at 8:10 AM
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4 Comments:
I'm a Miami native and have been well aware of the issues with the peafowl in the Grove for decades. I'm also an animal welfare advocate. How anyone could choose to slaughter peafowl instead of just hiring a Humane Wildlife Consultant is ridiculous. Everyone has talked and failed these animals over and over. Slaughtering wildlife is never a solution to a wildlife conflict.
Such a shame that this decision was made because it only leads to negative consequences and pr for Coconut Grove and the County. There are many resources that can help mitigate this issue.
Use compassion and not bullets. Use non-lethal strategies and not just drowning or gas them.
I was part of the group that convinced the City of Coconut Creek to accept help with their wildlife conflict and in turn they canceled the trapper they hired to slaughter 200 Egyptian Geese.
Using multiple humane tools, the Egyptian Geese who were living in a park finally dispersed and there was no bloodshed. Not one animal was killed. Literally a win for the City, for the Activists and the Geese.
We helped educate that City as to how to coexist with wildlife and use humane alternatives to issues. They listened. Google the story if you want you learn more.
We all know it is illegal to relocate peafowl. But everyone should be crystal clear that there is no such thing as a sanctuary or farm where they live happily ever after. All the peafowl, if removed, have to be slaughtered on residents property and can not be relocated.
So to begin with when you report this you should probably include the truth and those facts.
The only option is to contact the Humane Wildlife Consultants here in South Florida at (954) 800-3948
https://humanewildlifeconsulting.com/
This is who the Commission should have called first.
When you think slaughtering animals is the solution you make a huge mistake and the it is a vicious, ugly cycle of killing and new peafowl are born daily. You don't accomplish your goal to reduce the conflicts.
Also trappers kill them and also sell some animals to medical labs. Is this really what Coconut Grove residents have become? When did the Benz become more important than having ethics or a moral compass?
The County should also consider reversing the law prohibiting touching the eggs. You have to stop the reproductive cycle. Just like TBR with Community Cats, you need to sterilize them. Either the females or the males, then tag them. Ask FWC to make an exception. They have made an exception and returned 29 peacocks to Amelia Island.
Killing any animal and not going to the root cause of the problem, will never solve the problem.
The residents and Village Council of Coconut Grove need to trust that coexisting with wildlife, implementing humane non-lethal solutions and working with humane consultants (not trappers) is the only effective path to take.
I don't mind the peafowl. Granted they make noise, but they force cars to slow in my street which is a bigger concern of mine. Speeding cars, no sidewalks and no bike lanes in the South Grove are a recipe for disaster. The peacocks are the only thing slowing the cars down these days. Perhaps the commissioners can do something about the real issues rather than just go after low hanging fruit.
There are too many cats and dogs in the Grove, invasive, some are very dangerous, urinating everywhere. How about culling some of the cats and dogs as well?
What about the poops of the dogs in the grove. Always in the pavement outside of my house there is dog poops.
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