As the summer vacation approaches, many people choose to go to the seaside for holidays. However, in the vacation resort of “Punta Marina” along the Adriatic coast in Italy, a “peacock controversy” is unfolding. According to statistics, about a hundred peacocks roaming in the town are causing trouble, including attacking residents, pecking at vehicles, and damaging city gardens.
This spring breeding season, the situation of peacocks causing disturbances has escalated, with the mating calls of male peacocks in the early morning being particularly bothersome to residents. Currently, there is a division among residents on how to deal with the “non-native peacocks”; about half of the residents wish to capture and kill them or relocate the peacocks to a zoo. The other half advocates for animal protection and even utilization to boost local tourism development.
The town of Punta Marina has a population of about 3,000 people. The Ravenna municipal government is preparing for the first official peacock census and has assigned “peacock patrollers” to clean up streets, homes, and bird droppings on wheels.
Rosanna Golfarelli, a pastry shop owner, told CNN, “These peacocks will attack their own reflections in vehicles, causing damage; their droppings stick to sidewalks, making walking dangerous; and they block traffic.”
Her husband, Claudio Ianiero, said, “Peacocks are beautiful, but there are too many of them now; they create chaos and peck at anything they can find.” He also mentioned that the noise of peacocks indeed makes it difficult for local residents to sleep.
However, not all peacocks are troublesome. In the courtyard near the pastry shop, there are six peacocks living, one of them named “Pirilampo,” for whom they designed a special cookie based on his display pose.
In addition, some social media influencers and singers who visit the holiday resort for photoshoots have incorporated these wild peacocks into their videos. Amazon Music and the music streaming platform Spotify have released “relaxation” playlists featuring peacock calls.
The origin of how peacocks settled in Punta Marina is still inconclusive. It is rumored that over twenty years ago, residents brought peacocks as pets to the area, where they gradually multiplied into groups.
The Guardian pointed out that these peacocks used to inhabit the pine forests behind the town until the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. During the lockdown measures, people stayed indoors for extended periods while the peacocks roamed freely outside. Residents who occasionally encountered them would offer food, thus attracting them to return continually.
There is no specific data on peacock populations officially provided by Punta Marina. However, estimates suggest that the number of peacocks has increased from 10 in 2018 to around 120.
Rosario Balestrieri, an ornithologist at the Anton Dohrn Zoological Station, stated, “The pine forests provide an ideal habitat and nesting shelter for peacocks… and the continued provision of additional feeding by local residents further encourages population growth.”
For years, the municipal government has been trying to manage the peacock population in Punta Marina. After a relocation plan stalled in 2022, the animal rights organization Clama took over and intervened to promote coexistence between humans and birds. Clama has produced flyers and signs to educate residents and tourists not to feed the peacocks.
(This article references reports by CNN and The Guardian)