Some admire them. Others, not so much. County officials are asking that people stop feeding the peacocks, which are taking the streets of Los Angeles by storm.
Feeding peacocks might become a new peculiar ban in Los Angeles county as the exotic birds continue to flood into the area.
The wild animals have long roamed Los Angeles streets but residents have been reporting damaged property and noise complaints, which has led to a proposed ban on feeding the birds, according to multiple reports.
Just like any wild animal, peacocks, also known as peafowl, can become aggressive. And during mating season, they tend to get very loud. Experts say feeding them will only perpetuate that behavior.
"It encouraged them to stay, and because these birds are not native, they are destroying native habitats," Francine Bradley told The New York Times.
Some residents love the birds but others are racking in complaints about the peacock invasion.
Restaurant manager Jose Landeros has been in Pasadena for 36 years and told CNN that the peacocks have "been here for that long."
“It’s part of nature, [it] makes Palos Verdes unique," David Tai, one resident of the area, told NBC Los Angeles.
Peacocks were imported to California from their native South Asia because they were considered an elitist symbol of status for landowners, according to the outlet.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors drafted an ordinance Tuesday that would ban people from feeding the exotic birds. The motion was modeled after a law that was implemented in Arcadia, a nearby city.
One woman who sponsored the motion that would bar people from feeding the birds told The New York Times that she hoped the public would educate themselves on why feeding peacocks should be discouraged.
The Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control and the City Council will have 90 days to propose language for an ordinance, and then it would be voted on by a board of supervisors. It is still unclear how the ordinance would be enforced.
Meanwhile, wildlife experts have been hired by the city council to set up large cages to trap the birds and relocate them.
The area has been trapping peacocks since 2014 but stopped after a lull in peacock growth. Now, with a resurgence in the birds' population, city officials are again paying attention.
