Pesky peacocks run amok in Vancouver suburb

SURREY, B.C. — A neighbourhood in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey is in a flap over a flock of problematic peacocks.

At least 12 peacocks — and maybe as many as 35, according to some reports —have taken up residence in the Sullivan Heights area.

The area used to be acreages, but is now home to subdivisions with new homes that are no longer gleaming because of the peacocks' poop.

But the worst thing is the noise, according to new resident Adam Perzow.

"In the middle of the night and early morning, they are screaming," said Perzow. The sounds from the bigger birds sound "like someone is being murdered," he added.

Perzow and his wife didn't know about the peacocks when they moved into their home in November.

"They pretty much poop all over my yard and all over my driveway," said Perzow. "They roost in my tree and on my front porch.

"I would like these birds gone."

The birds are part of the pheasant family. Their bodies are 90 to 130 centimetres tall, with a tail approximately 1.5 metres in length. Peacocks weigh about four to six kilograms and have a lifespan of about 20 years.

Nobody is sure exactly where the Surrey birds came from, but a dozen or so regularly sun themselves on a building located on a neighbour's property.

Other neighbours have complained to the Surrey bylaw enforcement department, but nothing has been done, they said.

Peacocks are not native to B.C. but they do have a long history in the province.

The birds used to roam Stanley Park, although the Vancouver parks board said the park is no longer home to the birds.