Peacock Trapping To Resume In Rancho Palos Verdes

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CA — Peacock trapping will resume in Rancho Palos Verdes for the first time since 2021, as the number of colorful birds has seen a relatively large increase.

The Rancho Palos Verdes City Council voted Tuesday to conduct "limited, humane" trapping in the Portuguese Bend, Vista Grande and Sunnyside Ridge neighborhoods.

This year's census report counted 216 peacocks and peahens in the Rancho Palos Verdes region, a 31% increase in the average population compared to 2024. The Portuguese Bend and Vista Grande contain the most birds, with 78 and 75 peacocks, respectively.

City officials said that any trapped peacocks will be taken from the Peninsula and placed for adoption. However, city officials will make sure whoever is adopting them has avian experience and a large enough space for the birds to roam freely.

"Under no circumstances will the trapped peafowl be euthanized or treated inhumanely," city officials said in a statement Wednesday.

Rancho Palos Verdes began the trapping and relocation program in 2015 after residents complained that the growing peacock population was causing property damage and excessive noise.

"It is not the City’s intent to eradicate the peafowl population, but to manage the population at levels identified in 2000 and to educate the public on how to coexist with the birds," city officials said in the census report. "This is all in an effort to strike a balance between differing opinions in the City."

Councilmembers receive a census report each year detailing the number of peacocks counted on the Peninsula. From there, they use a baseline number established in 2000 (134) to determine whether or not to continue trapping and relocating the birds.

SEE ALSO: Why Rancho Palos Verdes Stopped Trapping Peacocks