The Transport Canberra and City Services Directorate has invited community comment on a draft plan to manage feral peafowl in the Territory.
Director of City Presentation at the Directorate, Stephen Alegria said community concerns regarding the feral peafowl population dated back to 2003 and the plan to manage them focussed on mitigating the negative impacts they have on the community, environment and economy.
Mr Alegria said the majority of complaints related to traffic safety concerns, noise (particularly during the breeding season), droppings and damage to property.
“To date, residents in the Narrabundah area have been most affected by peafowl; however, a small population of peafowl has also been identified in Pialligo,” Mr Alegria said.
“Peafowl population numbers swell significantly during the breeding season and it is important that we implement strategies to address the community’s concerns.”
He said the Directorate had previously responded to complaints as they arose, with trapping and relocation processes taking place in 2013 and 2015 and the new strategy would provide a more formal process to control the urban peafowl population in the medium to longer term.
“Following the peafowl trapping and relocation program undertaken in 2015, the ACT Government committed to implementing a more strategic approach to the management of the ACT’s feral peafowl populations,” he said.
“This plan has been developed to address ongoing community concerns.”
Mr Alegria said a range of management options had been considered, as outlined in the plan, and it was proposed to implement an annual trapping program to reduce feral peafowl numbers.
He said that as well as the negative impacts on local residents, peafowl competed with native birds for habitat and fed on native plants and animals.
The 39-page Draft Peafowl Management Plan which is open for comment can be accessed at this PS News link.
