Rampaging Peacock Tased Twice by Police, Shot by Owner in Houston

Houston, we should be ashamed.  We are now those people who keep wild animals as pets. We are now those people who tase said wild animals when they get out of hand, and then shoot them, instead of taking them to a sanctuary or a zoo.   We are now Florida.  

 Peacocks are not rare in Houston.  (see here) There is a colony that roams free in West Houston off Memorial Drive between Kirkwood and Dairy Ashford, in an area that was once out in the prarie, but is now in the heart of the Energy Corridor.  They roam the yards and streets, putting on a show and making a racket.  The population of 50 birds are offspring that a landowner gave his wife more than 30 years ago.  Some new residents to the area think they are a pest and their screeching needs to be stopped.  These interlopers are shut down by long-time residents who like them.

Peacock at Bayou Bend Park in Houston

The Houston Chronicle reports about a man in Northwest Houston who kept a pair of wild peacocks, one got out of control, and then he called a sheriff, who tased it.  The tased bird was not part of the wild West Houston set. It was apparently part of a private pair bought by a guy up in Northwest Houston who kept them in the backyard.  It is also apparently mating season and the male, named Meanie, took umbrage with other males being around, which I get.  It was attacking people’s legs.  The owners called the Sheriff.  That’s just ridiculous.  What were they going to do, arrest it?  While the deputy was interviewing the people and probably wondering what he was doing there, the peacock started attacking the woman.  Not being an animal control officer and having the proper equipment, Deputy Friendly tased the peacock twice.  Seriously, twice.  The bird was unfazed.  That’s strong.

That’s when the owner shot it with a rifle, apparently with the deputy’s blessing.  My guess is that’s why he called the deputy.  Because he was planning on discharging a firearm and wanted pre-clearance to do it inside an urban area.

The owner (we’ll call him Jackass) then said everyone got a souvenir, a  long colorful feather, before he left the carcass in a clearing where coyotes hang out, who would apparently eat the bird. 

Perhaps, Jackass, you could have used the Google machine and found out that there is a large brood of wild peacocks about ten miles away that likely wouldn’t mind having another member. Perhaps the bird was upset at being in your backyard and hemmed in, as a peacock is not a domestic animal, and your yard is not a zoo.  Rather than calling Deputy Friendly who would tase it, you could have called animal control.  Perhaps instead of getting your rifle, you could have gotten your phone or computer and figured out a reasonable place to take a wild animal, rather than shooting it.