Police have launched an operation to remove three peacocks that have become popular community mascots. The birds are fed by residents every day, have their own road signs and even appear on their own Facebook page.
However, on Wednesday (June 7) Rural Crime Team and environmental health officers arrived to try and take them away as the street is "not their natural habitat". Reggie the peacock and peahens Rosie and Ruby live on Glenwood Gardens, a cul-de-sac in Bedworth, Warwickshire, and an online petition has been set up to save them.
Reggie has been a favourite with locals for almost nine years, CoventryLive reports. He used to roam around with his brother Ronnie, but when Ronnie moved, the community decided to bring in female friends Ruby and Rosie to offer company.
It is understood one of the peahens was captured and officers were set to return for the other two birds. A Warwickshire Police spokesman said: "Following concerns about noise and damage, we are working with a local estate to rehouse the birds.
"We acknowledge this is not their natural habitat and we think we think they need to be in a more suitable environment. We have spoken to residents and told them that we are happy to share photographs of them in their new home."
A spokesperson for the borough council said: "The borough council has received a number of complaints from a number of people going back over more than two years detailing instances of noise in the early hours caused by the peacocks as well as faeces and concerns about their safety due to traffic in particular.
“Peacocks aren’t naturally found in the wild in the UK and they are not best suited to urban environments. We have been working with Warwickshire Police for some time to try and identify the most appropriate action to be taken in light of these complaints, and that’s how it was decided that the best thing to do was relocating the birds to a more appropriate setting."
CoventryLive said the 'Reggie Peacock and friends' Facebook page had attracted a flurry of messages after the news of the birds' removal broke. A post said neighbours were having to say "goodbye to our much loved trio of peacocks", adding: "A very sad day indeed."
