The pretty little UK village ‘being ruined’ by beautiful peacocks – ‘they want shooting’.uk
EXCLUSIVE: The birds have been roaming wild for decades, sparking a debate amongst locals.
Residents are taking sides as to whether they are keen on the flock. (Image: Rowan Griffiths)
A peacock, its blue and green plumage shining in the sunlight, leans its head back, and produces a piercing call that echoes through the picturesque Staffordshire village of Tutbury on a warm June morning. A woman, who has plainly been irritated by the sound many times beforehand, shouts from behind her garden fence: “Oh, shut up!”
This countryside community finds itself divided over the birds, so much so that, when talking to The Express, residents held back some of their details, lest they provoked retaliation from their neighbours. Those that are pro-peacock say they feel “persecuted”, and have “set-tos” with other villagers. The flock has roamed freely for decades, and some bemoan damage which the animals have apparently caused to residents’ gardens and property, the amount of poo they leave behind as well as being woken up in the small hours by their squawks.
This is not a problem exclusive to Staffordshire, with numbers reportedly soaring in Hibaldstow in Lincolnshire, where there is an estimated one peafowl – the collective term for peacocks and peahens – for every 80 villagers. In addition, there are thought to be around 30 birds in Gulval, near Penzance, scratching cars, blocking roads, and leaving droppings on lawns.
Moreover, in 2014, the East Yorkshire village of North Ferriby appealed to a nearby stately home to save them from a “large and noisy” community of “feral” peafowl. Natives of India, the birds like hot weather, but expert Sussanne Chambers from Peacocks UK – a peafowl farm situated in the Worcestershire countryside – adds that they are “robust”, and can survive frosts and cold conditions when adults.
Although, they dislike rain and wind, and chicks need to be kept constantly warm. Thought to have been originally brought to Britain by the Romans, peafowl were later shipped back to the UK by the rich, who found them on their Grand Tours of foreign lands, to make their expansive properties look more exotic.
Ian Woolley, 62, who has lived in Tutbury since 1997, claims to be one of the flock’s victims, as “massive” scratches were left on his car a few years ago. He had to replace the vehicle, with the incident setting him back £2,000. “I wasn’t ready to change it,” Mr Woolley says. Tiles have had to be replaced on his and neighbours’ roofs, he adds.
Gesturing towards his backyard, he says: “You can see all the mess that they’re making. “Sometimes, I can have 10 or 15 round the garden. Basically, I can’t use it properly. They’re basically a pain in the neck.” Residents disagree as to how many of the birds are roaming the village.
Ian believes there must be around 40, but retired NHS “dogsbody” Jean, 86, who asks to keep her surname under wraps, says: “It has but reported in some of the papers that there’s 40 of them. “There are nowhere near – there’s only about a dozen breeding again now. There will be another two or three.”
Expert Sussanne Chambers from Peacocks UK – a peafowl farm situated in the Worcestershire countryside – confirms that this is the time of year when hens are looking after their eggs. If left alone, they can lay up to six or seven. But, if disturbed, they could lay up to 18.
Hefina Williams, 72, who worked at the Dog and Partridge pub for 33 years, has lived in Tutbury all her life. She has had rubber spikes installed on her garden fence, as peacocks have previously stood on it, leading to its collapse. “They’re lovely birds, but they do a lot of damage. I have flowers at the front and I talk to them out of the window, ‘Don’t you pick those flowers and leaves off, little peacocks.’ They listen to me.”
“They want shooting,” jokes David, an elderly resident. The retired chef and hotel manager, who does not wish to provide his surname, adds: “No, they don’t. It’s just the noise they make. It starts at 4am, and at about nine at night they start again.”
Joan, standing next to her husband in their doorway, says: “A few years ago, we had flowers in the garden, and six or seven used to come and eat them. People think they can’t fly, oh but they can. I don’t wish them any harm but it’s just that they’re too many. They are lovely for the visitors and that, but they don’t have to live with it. They need taking away, some of them. Let someone else have them.”
Indeed, Ms Chambers tells the Express that she would be happy to relieve Tutbury of some of the birds. “To me, the solution is to remove some of the peacocks,” the expert says. “It’s a large population there. Take some of them away, while leaving some for the people who get a lot of enjoyment and engagement from them.” She adds: “If you like the peacocks, feeding them is an appropriate thing to do, and making sure that they have access to clean water.
Hefina Williams tells the birds to leave her flowers alone (Image: Rowan Griffiths / Daily Express)
The village of Tutbury is home to a flock of peacocks (Image: Rowan Griffiths / Daily Express)
“If you don’t like them, then spraying them with water is an effective deterrent.
“Obviously, I love peacocks, and I’ve always wanted to see them well looked after, which is one of the reasons why we do offer that removal service.”
Marie, 56, who works in retail and moved to the village from Newcastle two years ago, says on her doorstep: “They’re just lovely. They have hilarious personalities. The reason they’re so noisy at the moment is because they’re a bit like new teenagers. It’s only because it’s mating season.”
She adds: “They’re not vicious – they don’t attack people. The only reason they’re getting further into the village is because they’re getting persecuted. I’m one of the persecuted. I’m a peacock lover, therefore I get anger from people who don’t like them.
“Nasty comments on Facebook. It’s absolutely horrendous. There are set-tos with people as well”.
The RSPCA describes peacock’s calls as “shrill raucous shrieks”.
A spokesperson adds: “In the breeding season, peacocks will call loudly to advertise their presence to peahens.
“They tend to make most noise early in the morning at dawn, and late in the evening during the breeding season.”
Why exactly the birds are roaming free in Tutbury is a hot topic of debate. Joan and David, who have lived in Tutbury for 35 years, believe they came from the village’s castle, which is currently closed.
However, the Duchy of Lancaster, the site’s owner, tells The Express that “they have never been owned or formally associated with the castle”.
Ms Chambers thinks the birds may have descended from a few individuals kept by a local as “much-loved pets”.
She says: “They could have come from anywhere. Any person can keep a peacock. They’re absolutely beautiful; they enhance any garden.”
Sussanne speculates that something could have happened at their original home, to “make them leave in fright”, such as building work, the appearance of a predator, like a fox; or a storm.
The RSPCA says that wild peacocks, having originated in India, “may have escaped from a private collection”.
If somebody accepts resubmit they’re going to get a solicitors letter they’re saying they’ve caused so much damage. Nuisance.
Peter, 73, a retired heavy engineer, says while walking his dog: “If somebody accepts responsibility, they’re going to get a solicitors’ letter saying they’ve caused so much damage.”
Referring to the birds, he adds: “They can’t speak for themselves, can they? They’re a nuisance.
“But you just learn to accept it, they’ve been here that long now.”
Where the peacocks came from is a topic of debate (Image: Rowan Griffiths / Daily Express)
Wherever they came from, the peacocks have their fervent admirers as well as their opponents. Another resident, who does not wish to have his name included in this report, had major spinal surgery in April, and says the peacock flock has got him out of bed.
The local of three years tells the Express: “I was on the verge of not walking again. These birds here have been like my get up and go sort of thing.
“If you saw me eight weeks ago, I was in a wheelchair. I told the doctors, ‘I need to get back home. I need to get back to look after my peacocks.’
“They’re very clever birds. They’ve been like an inspiration for me.”
But he concedes that they are a “double-edged sword”. He says: “It’s the poo. It is a bit big, and when they land on the bungalow, it sounds like there is a bus coming through the building.
“They’re elegant birds, but then they’ve got their problems. The squawking. People don’t like them on their property, they peck halogen headlights.
“If you’ve got an expensive car, they’re at it straight away. People are shooting them with water guns to get them away.”
But despite his obvious affection for the peacocks, he has not given them names.
“I can’t name them,” the resident says. “They all look the same to me.”
Anthony Tidmarsh, 64, who used to work in glassworks before grafting at a turkey factory, has lived in the village all his life.
He says through his white beard that he will be sticking up for the peacocks at a meeting called to discuss the issue that evening.
“I love the colour of them, when they open up. Even though they come up my way, I don’t mind them.”
Mr Tidmarsh, who also believes the flock originated at the castle, then calls those against the birds “stupid”.
The peacocks have helped one resident with his recovery from surgery. (Image: Rowan Griffiths / Daily Express)
Moz Needham says the situation is a ‘storm in a teacup’ (Image: Rowan Griffiths / Daily Express)
Among partisan residents, there are those who are more nonchalant.
Moz Needham, 67, who used to work at Rolls Royce in Derby making jet engines, says: “My personal view is it’s a bit of a joke.
“Yeah, we’ve got peacocks, but so what? There is a lot of people love them, some people hate them.
“I see them as a source of amusement.” He adds that they only bother him when they walk over the road when he’s driving or riding his motorbike.
“The phrase storm in a tea cup springs to mind,” Mr Needham says.
Heather Hunter- Harris, 63, who used to work with children at after school clubs.
She says: “They’re lovely. They’re nice to look at, as long as you don’t feed them. When people feed them, it causes the trouble.
“They’re bringing the tourists because people come to look at them. All animals are loud. If you have a dog, that barks. It’s loud.”
One of the couple’s neighbours, who wishes not to be named, says: They were here a long time before us. They’re very beautiful birds.”
But he adds: “I love cows, but I don’t want cows on my garden.”
To Sussanne’s specialist knowledge, the only organisms peacocks have an impact on in the UK are insects, such as aphids and worms, which the omnivores eat.
This should not have any further impact on the wider ecosystem, the expert says. “There’s just so many insects around in the UK,” Ms Chambers explains. “They’re not going to have an impact which means smaller birds can’t find enough insects, because we have just so many different species of insects. It’s not like they’re eating one particular species that some tiny bird is also only eating. Most species of birds eat multiple different insects.”
The peacocks need to watch their backs in Britain, Sussanne adds, as they are predated upon by mammals, such as foxes in England and Pine Martens in Scotland.
As regards how much the overall wild peacock population in the UK has increased of late, Ms Chambers says it is hard to put a finger on.
“I think it’s more newsworthy,” she tells the Express, “so you tend to hear about it more. But it’s not something that I have monitored personally.” She adds: “I can’t imagine them expanding to every town and village in the UK. They will always be in pockets. They’re territorial.”
Local populations, Sussanne says, will very much depend on how many predators live nearby.
Harriet Coppock, 47, meanwhile, the owner of Tutbury Village Kitchen, is not concerned about the local wildlife. She says: “I think the biggest story in the town, no matter what people bitch about on Facebook, is the closure of the castle.”
The situation means she is missing out on customers, the businesswoman said.
“It would be absolutely heaving with tourists – magical mystery tour buses, loads of pensioners looking for history, and school kids.
“They used to do fabulous fireworks displays up there in the autumn.”
Gary Rai, who works at the village’s family-owned chip shop, is equally indifferent to the peacocks.
“They do come into the back, but they don’t normally cause any harm,” he says.
The castle’s closure, he adds, “used to bring a lot of business”.
“I’d say we’ve lost a big income that we’d normally get through it,” Mr Rai says.
The Duchy of Lancaster says that the castle does not have a tenant because it is undergoing “essential restoration works”.
Harriet Coppock thinks reopening the village’s castle is more important (Image: Rowan Griffiths / Daily Express)
Gary Rai says his chippy has lost business because of the closure of the castle (Image: Rowan Griffiths / Daily Express)
“The final phase of the work is being procured currently and the Duchy will shortly be seeking a new tenant who can deliver a new future for this important local landmark,” a spokesperson adds.
Staffordshire County Council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for economy and skills Martin Murray says: “Tutbury Castle is certainly a jewel in the crown locally and has been a popular visitor attraction in the past.
“While we would of course welcome any reopening in the future with all the positive impacts that would bring to the local economy, that is of course a matter for the owner of the estate.”
The RSPCA urges residents with any animal welfare concerns to call the charity on 0300 1234 999. The charity also advises locals to check for potential owners like local estates to check whether they have missing birds.
A spokesperson said: “The owner of a peacock is legally responsible for their wellbeing, and if they’re not actively attempting to retrieve it, should be referred to your local police wildlife crime officer.
“Noise complaints should be directed to the local authority. The legislative framework concerning peacocks is complex, but we would be against any actions to harm these birds and hope a resolution in the community can be made that prioritises their safety and welfare.”
