Another South Florida neighborhood is infested with a feral peacock population, reports the Sun Sentinel. Two decades ago, there was only about 20 peafowl in Boynton Beach's Fox Hollow. Now there's nearly 400.
The peacocks and peahens are vilified for their copious guano, loitering, and all-night shrieking. A Hawaii woman recently charged with beating a peacock to death said the animals' squawks drove her to insanity.
The Fox Hollow homeowners association is considering paying a trapper $6,000 to kill half the population.
Cherly Bickley, who admits to feeding the feral birds, told the Sentinel, "It's horrible that they would even think of killing them. I have a 3-year-old daughter, and my fear is that I'll be driving down the block and she'll see somebody strangling a peacock."
Dennis Fett, who runs the Peacock Information Center, told Fox News that peacocks may crave human company.
And the birds, which are native to India, have made quite the second-home in South Florida, especially in Coconut Grove.
After Grove residents released pet peacocks, there were upwards of 35 peacocks and peahens roaming free within a three-block radius on Micanopy Street.
A Miami-Dade ordinance protects peafowl, so Coconut Grove officials turned to humane solutions. They considered giving the frisky birds birth control and started relocating them to other locations, such as the Redlands.
Meanwhile, South Miami commissioners recently voted unanimously to reject an ordinance protecting peacocks and their eggs from being hurt or killed. Mayor Philip Stoddard encouraged concerned residents to poke holes in the peacock eggs and even cook them in an omelet.
Watch the below video to hear from Coconut Grove residents on their neighborhood peafowl.