Peafowl Trapping To Pause In Palos Verdes

PALOS VERDES, CA — Rancho Palos Verdes City Council voted this week to pause its peafowl trapping program.

The program had picked up following the results from the 2021 Peafowl Census, which found an increase in the population from 121 in 2020 and 181 in 2021. This includes both male and female Peafowl.

The humane peafowl trapping program will now pause for the remainder of 2022 until a new count of peacocks and peahens is conducted in 2023.

The PV Peafowl Problem

Although they're known for their iconic beauty, neighbors have reported car damage, poop, noise, destroyed gardens and traffic stops due to the increased population, according to the city.

The move to trap the birds comes a year after pausing the trapping program. In 2015, the city council adopted the Peafowl Management Plan to keep the citywide population of peacocks and peahens at 134.

There are no regulations or laws prohibiting the trapping of peafowl on private property, according to the city.

In the 2000 and 2008 censuses on Peafowl, the city supported limited, targeted trapping. Residents are permitted to trap peafowl on their personal property at their own expense.

"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," according to a statement from the city. "This is all in an effort to strike a balance between differing opinions in the City. Every year, the City Council receives a report on the past year's trapping program (if trapping was conducted), as well as a census report for the current year's peafowl population, to determine whether or not to resume trapping."

Most of the peafowl population counted in the 2021 census are contained to three neighborhoods, according to the city.

Patch Asks: Do you have peacocks in your neighborhood? Tell us about it in the comments.