ACT rangers have Narrabundah's feral peafowl in their sights after residents complained of early morning mating calls, droppings on footpaths and destruction of gardens.
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Tradesmen working in Brockman Street, Narrabundah, on Tuesday said some residents were feeding up to 30 peafowls in their front garden of an afternoon, while other residents in the street loathed them.
"They crap everywhere," one of the men said. "They wander across the road and let out a big honk if they see a strange car. The male puts on a big display [of feathers]."
A workman said many of the peafowl roosted in a giant gum tree across the road in the United Care Retirement Village. At the sight of a dog off the leash the birds escaped into the trees or on top of roofs.
The ACT Parks and Conservation Service will relocate the birds over the coming weeks to a wildlife sanctuary in Darlington Point, NSW.
Biosecurity and rural services senior manager Stephen Hughes said about 25 feral peafowl around the retirement village posed a health and safety risk to residents and passersby.
Mr Hughes said experienced rangers would remove a number of them and take them to Altina Wildlife Park, a sanctuary known for wildlife conservation. They had agreed to accept up to 20 peahens and between five and 10 peacocks.
"The main hazards these birds pose to people are associated with their droppings, including through the spread of disease by incidental hand contact like gardening, as well as slipping hazards," Mr Hughes said. "Vehicle collisions caused by motorists attempting to avoid the birds are also a concern.
"This dense population of peacocks poses a threat to native wildlife, such as reptiles, as a predator in addition to competing with native birds for essential habitat in trees."
The birds will be lured with food into a cage. Mr Hughes said this was designed to cause them minimal stress. Animal welfare officers would monitor the trapping and help in the safe removal of the birds which had been planned in consultation with the RSPCA and the ACT Government vet.
The ACT Government spent $10,000 trapping and relocating eight peafowl in 2013 to Taronga Western Plains Zoo, after residents complained about their noisy calls, poo on the footpath and garden scratchings.While the government refused to relocate any of them to willing rural residents in the capital region, for fear of spreading the population, the two peahens sent to the zoo were later re-homed to a bird enthusiast's place within Dubbo shire. The six peacocks are free ranging within the zoo.
Mr Hughes said the Canberra community would have an opportunity next year to comment on a plan for managing feral peacock populations.
