Council’s Peacock Workshop Ruffles Feathers

With the occasional cries of peacocks filling the early-evening air, the City Council talked this week about the future of the city’s famous peafowl.

And in light of the controversy that has dogged the free-roaming birds for years, it was no surprise that the discussion--which centered on recommendations made three months ago by a citizens committee--ruffled feathers in the audience of about 20 residents.

Some people in the audience wanted to know when they would be able to have their say at a public hearing. They were told only that one will be held sometime before the first week in September. “We want to resolve this within 30 to 60 days,” Mayor James Kinney said at the workshop, where discussion was limited to council and staff.

Annoyed Residents

Peafowl fanciers were alarmed by the council’s indication that residents annoyed by the birds should be able to have them trapped and removed from their property--and perhaps from the city if they returned.

“The right to protect private property has to be basic,” said Councilwoman Barbara Culver.

But Raymond L. Winters, chairman of the citizens peafowl committee, said that unless trapping is controlled and monitored, it could lead to decimation of the flock.

The birds, which inhabit two areas, numbered 67 during the last official count in November. Winters said that 51 birds were removed from the city before trapping was halted a year ago so the committee could study the peafowl problem.

‘Right to Peace and Quiet’

“I heard a lot about managing peafowl but I did not hear anyone talk about the people who are being abused and harassed by noise,” said resident Harold Kaplan after the one-hour session. “The citizens have a right to peace and quiet.”

The peafowl committee recommended that the birds be protected on both public and private property as city wildlife. Any birds trapped on private property under city authorization should be relocated to city-owned parklands, the committee said.

But City Manager Gordon Siebert said trapped birds should be banded and if they are trapped again, they should be transported out of the city, probably to the Southern California Humane Society’s Wildlife Way Station in Little Tujunga Canyon.

Set Upper Limit

Siebert said the council should set 67 as the “upper limit” of the peafowl population and permit trapping under Humane Society auspices if the flock exceeds that number. He recommended that another count be done in September, although Culver said the best time to do it is early next year during the mating season.

While some members seemed to favor setting a limit before trapping is allowed, Councilman Edward Ritcher said, “The individual with the problem has to have some measure to correct the situation.”

And some anti-peacock people said the city should remove as many birds as it takes to solve their problems with noise and bird droppings. “If the count gets down to two, that’s what it gets down to,” said resident Marjorie Kaplan after the meeting.

Threaten Flock

For his part, Winters called trapping “the easy way out” and said attention must be paid to how many males and females are removed from the city. He said haphazard trapping would threaten the peafowl.

Siebert said the council should consider establishing feeder stations in parkland areas to discourage birds from wandering onto private property. Some council members said this could preclude the need to remove birds from the city.

The city manager endorsed a committee proposal that a peafowl manual be published and made available to the public. Among other things, it would give residents tips on how to drive the birds from their property.

Siebert said he will give the council additional recommendations in three weeks, based on the discussion this week.