Possible killings upset pro-peacock groups
By Will Hoover
Advertiser Leeward O'ahu Writer
Once again a flap over the capture and possible killing of peacocks has ruffled feathers on the Wai'anae Coast.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser
Several animal advocacy groups report that they have received calls this week from animal lovers complaining that maintenance workers at the Makaha Valley Plantation townhouses have been capturing and killing peacocks.
Peacocks at the Makaha Valley Plantation townhomes in Wai'anae are possibly being captured and killed and there are reports of inhumane treatment. Two years ago, a similar controversy arose at a nearby high-rise.
How many peacocks, if any, have been killed was not known. Neither Monty Glover, president of the Makaha Valley Plantation Association of Apartment Owners, nor Otis King, general manager of the complex, responded yesterday to telephone inquiries about the matter.
However, Peter Young, Department of Land and Natural Resources chairman, confirmed that a "wildlife control permit" was issued effective June 7, 2004, to Makaha Valley Plantation in King's name.
The permit expires at the end of this month, Young said, and a renewal has been requested for another year.
The permit was issued in accordance with state statute 183D-61, and "authorizes the taking and destruction of wild birds that constitute a health hazard," Young said.
The application was specifically issued for peafowl, meaning peacocks and hens, and listed "nuisance and health hazard" as reasons. Young said the recommended method of capture and destruction is trapping and shooting. Peacocks are not native to Hawai'i.
DLNR cannot say if any animals have been killed.
Separately, Jacque Smith, spokeswoman for the Hawaiian Humane Society, said investigator Brett Lum responded Monday evening to complaints that caged peacocks at Makaha Valley Plantation were being treated inhumanely.
"He found three peacocks in a cages without access to food and water," Smith said. "He was told that the peacocks had been there for three days."
Smith said Lum issued a warning citation to the management of the apartment complex, and told them to release the peacocks, which they did.
Two years ago a similar controversy arose after the nearby Makaha Valley Towers high-rise signed a $4,000 contract with the federal government to capture and kill dozens of the wild peacocks that have roamed and flourished in Makaha Valley since the days of King Kamehameha V.
While some residents complained about bird droppings and loud cries from the males during mating season, their voices were soon drowned out by the even more vocal pro-peacock forces. In the end, the Towers board decided to kill the plan instead of peacocks.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser
The proposal to kill the Makaha birds prompted people and organizations from across the state and as far away as Texas to offer sanctuary to some of the peacocks.
Complaints have been made that peacocks are being treated inhumanely at the Makaha Valley Plantation townhomes on the Wai'anae Coast. Animal advocacy groups are upset that maintenance workers at the apartment complex may be trapping and killing the peacocks, even though it has a state "wildlife control permit" to legally do so.
And although the Makaha Valley Plantation now has a legal permit to trap and kill the big birds, animal advocates insist that's not a desirable method of dealing with the problem.
"We feel that killing is just not a solution," said Cathy Goeggel, director of Animal Rights Hawai'i. "When you have animals and humans living together in close proximity, there might be other ways of making it less of a problem.
"It's too easy to just say, 'Oh we'll give a permit and kill them.' A civilized society should not do that."
Mary Markl, a board member of the Wild Bird Rehab Haven, which primarily helps baby and injured birds, said her organization also heard complaints about captured and killed peacocks at the apartment complex.
"It's happening, but they are doing it quietly," Markl said. "Many people are upset about this."
Reach Will Hoover at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8038.
