City taking steps to protect free-roaming peacocks and peahens in SA neighborhoods
SAN ANTONIO — A city council committee is taking up a proposed ordinance to further protect free-roaming peafowl as well as establish San Antonio as a bird sanctuary.
The proposal was the subject of discussion at Tuesday's Public Safety Committee meeting. The proposal is from District 7 Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito, who filed a Council Consideration Request on the issue earlier this year.
Peafowl, which includes peacocks and peahens, were brought to San Antonio decades ago and have since become free-roaming in the streets of several northwest-side neighborhoods . There are very few protections for these birds and current law allows to people to remove or relocate birds as long as it is done humanely.
"These neighborhoods have long embraced these peafowl in this neighborhood so we just want to embrace them and protect them, too," Alderete Gavito said.
Back in February, several neighbors in a northwest-side area were upset when someone was caught on camera making off with one of the birds in their van.
Then days later, a group was spotted with a trailer attempting to load in the peacocks. KENS 5 captured the dispute between homeowners and the bird trappers. Police were called out but no laws were broken.
The law does, however, prevent people from selling peafowl, and they are protected by animal cruelty laws.
Alderete Gavito's proposal calls for an ordinance to only allow licensed or permitted handlers to remove and relocate peafowl to ensure their safety. It also calls for Animal Care Services (ACS) to only capture, remove or relocate peafowl after community input is taken into consideration.
"Residents felt frustrated because they couldn't get proper help from ACS," Alderete Gavito said.
Alderte Gavito was joined at Tuesday's meeting by Assistant City Manager David W. McCary and Interim ACS Director Michael Shannon for a briefing on the peafowl proposal.
The proposal also includes adding San Antonio as a "bird sanctuary" where the capture, killing, shooting, trapping, removal, or relocation of birds is not permitted by anyone who is untrained or unlicensed.
ACS does plan to host community input meetings in the neighborhoods impacted in the coming months. They will take that feedback to The ACS Advisory Board. Then, In December, the Public Safety Committee will decide whether to send the proposal to city council for a vote.
