An Oamaru couple have ‘‘had it up to here'' with a wild peacock they say screams "like a child being beaten'' every night.
Roxby St residents Don and Barbara Byers, of South Hill, said the bird, which remains elusive in the daytime, has cost them sleep over the past six months and nobody is taking responsibility for it.
"It should be shot,'' Mrs Byers said. "It's wild and it's good for nothing.''
She said the young male bird started coming to her home last year.
Despite being scared away from their property by their two dogs, it made a home for itself in the bush and trees in neighbouring properties.
About midnight every night, the bird would "scream''.
And though it was calling from across a gully at the back of her property, it was so loud it sounded "like it's outside your door. It sounds like a child being beaten.''
The owner of the bird, who asked not to be named for fear of threats and abuse, said the bird, whom she called George, had run away from her nearby home about eight months ago.
All attempts since to catch the bird had failed.
She told the ODT yesterday she thought someone had shot the bird.
"I honestly thought he was dead.''
She appealed to neighbours to help her catch the bird, which she would take back in to live with her other peacock, Geoffrey, and "retrain'' to stay home.
The Byers' South Hill neighbours, all of whom declined to give their names, gave a range of opinions on the bird.
Peak peacock disruption occurred in October or November, one said.
It once kept her up, but now she was no longer disturbed by the noise, saying she was used to it.
Another neighbour said the noise and the destruction in his garden bothered him.
One neighbour said he enjoyed having it in the neighbourhood, while another questioned whether an exotic pet, such as George, was appropriate in a suburban area.
SPCA Otago director of animal welfare Helen Beattie said the SPCA typically only became involved in cases involving animal welfare, and during her time in the role, since July, she was unaware of any complaints having been made about the bird.
Mrs Byers said two Waitaki District Council animal control officers had come to her house about three months ago to try to catch the bird, but failed.
"If it was a horse or something, you'd be into it - you'd do something about it. But because it's a peacock, it's in the too-hard basket.''
The Waitaki District Council did not return phone calls yesterday.
