More than 100 peacocks are wreaking havoc in the Italian seaside town of Punta Marina on the Adriatic coast, with local opinion divided over what to do with the swollen colony.
According to some estimates, there are nearly 150 peacocks roaming free, causing disturbances and exhibiting aggressive behavior toward humans, cars, and urban gardens.
Tensions are high with the arrival of this spring’s breeding season, especially the loud mating calls of the males in the early morning hours, which has residents worried.
“They attack their own reflections, destroy cars, and spread sticky guano all over the sidewalks, making it dangerous to walk and blocking traffic,” Rosanna Golffarelli, who runs a local cocoa pastry shop with her husband Claudio Iniello, told CNN.
Six peacocks are nesting in the courtyard near the store, one of which is affectionately named Pirirampo, and a special cookie is designed to resemble a fan of feathers.
“Peafowl are beautiful, but there are too many of them right now. They leave a mess and peck at everything they can find,” says Ianniello, who still finds the growing feud over their presence amusing. He admitted that he and his wife don’t live near the bakery, so the noise that happens during the night doesn’t bother them.
Golfarelli and Ianniello are struggling with what to do with the winged devil. About half of the small town of about 3,000 people want the animals to be culled or transferred to local zoos. The other half want to protect the colorful creatures and even use them to promote tourism in the area.
After all, this bird has been captured on video by Italian influencers and singers filming in Punta Marina. Amazon Music and Spotify also offer “relaxing” playlists inspired by the sounds of city birds.
Peacocks have been part of the demographics of the wider municipality of Ravenna for many years.
According to local legend, it all started when a peacock escaped from its cage and took up residence in a pine forest on the edge of Punta Marina. Every spring, he screeched in search of a mate before someone finally introduced a hen.
As the colony grew, the birds roosted in a nearby abandoned barracks, then returned to the pine forest once the facility was renovated. They then began moving to parks and abandoned houses in Punta Marina, seeking safety from natural predators such as foxes and wolves, whose numbers had increased due to the presence of peafowl.
Once in the city, people started feeding them, especially in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown. As a result, the birds have become dependent on humans, and with no natural predators in urban areas, peacock numbers have exploded.
The Ravenna City Council has been soliciting ideas for managing the peacock population since 2022, when their numbers have declined significantly. However, the move was met with backlash from animal rights groups after the zoo offered to adopt 20 peacocks.
In 2023, there were only 30 known birds. Francesca Impellizzeri, Ravenna’s councilor for animal welfare, told CNN affiliate Sky TG24: “That number is outdated. Now there are people who say there are 100 to 120 animals. We need to count them systematically.”
“We are currently working on a census in the coming months to find out how many men and women there are in the area. Then, once we have the numbers, we will work with local communities and animal rights groups to consider what action to take,” she added.
Two years ago, the CLAMA association signed an agreement with the local government to help manage the colony. Animal welfare nonprofits have placed signs around Punta Marina warning people not to feed the birds.
Italian towns are not the first areas to struggle with pesky peacocks and other birds.
Peacocks have roamed the streets of Los Angeles County for more than 100 years, but authorities moved to ban people from feeding them in 2021 after reports of them croaking at night and damaging property.
In recent years, the village of Pinecrest, Florida, has turned to vasectomies to control peacock breeding.
In 2020, a town in Western Australia became home to a large number of emus, which can grow up to 6.2 feet tall.
