DGU Peafowl

More of an interesting story than a true Defensive Gun Use:

A Houston-area man said he shot and killed his daughter’s peacock after the bird scared several people in the neighborhood for weeks…

Richards’ neighbor, Billie Rumsey, decided she had had enough when the bird went after her again Wednesday.

“When you have a big bird up that high and you’re coming out the patio door and that bird comes down on you, it’s terrifying” she said.

Rumsey tried calling Harris County animal control and was told they did not deal with birds. She said she also tried to get help from at least two animal rescue groups without result.

She finally called the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, which sent a deputy.

The deputy tried using a stun-gun on the peacock, which did not appear to affect it. Riley then asked the deputy for permission to shoot the bird and got it.

I like that the deputy allowed the owner to take care of the problem. Permission was only asked as all non-lethal forms of capturing the bird were exhausted. I’ll note that if the bird is yours, on your property, and you have a safe backstop for misses and pass-throughs, I don’t see why the cops need to be involved at all.

Lastly I share the owner’s frustration with the ineptitude of animal control. I’ve called animal control twice in my life, once in Maine when a likely rabid raccoon was rummaging through our garage, and another time in Massachusetts when a likely rabid skunk was skulking around my yard. Both times Animal control did nothing. Both animals were nocturnal animals in broad daylight showing little concern for humans and showing bad coordination.

Of course I did have an animal control officer knock on my door in Maine once asking me “Is that your cat?” I looked over his shoulder and saw a dead cat that probably got hit by a car. He carted the body off.

Oh and the place in Maine, and Mass were both areas where discharge of firearms inside the town limits were forbidden, so if I actually wanted to do something good and put a round into the animal with soft dirt behind them, I could be charged with a crime.

Tell that to somebody’s pet who’s been attacked by a rabid animal!