21-05-2025
Peacock issue unsolved
It has been my pleasure to come to know a man called Bob Smith. We share a love of birds and I've gone to him for advice on numerous occasions.
My grandchildren enjoy visiting the aviary and have been spoilt with a trip out the back to see birds nesting and getting a peacock feather.
Bob has looked after the Gore aviary for 27 years. Birds are his passion and he devotes himself to keeping them healthy. He is well respected among the bird community and has a great knowledge of many different species.
I've had experience with peacocks running free near Gore. We all like to think of them enjoying their freedom and living their best life.
The reality is they are killed on the roads, their young are slaughtered by predators and they struggle for food in the winter months. They can fly over deer fences and upset people by roosting in their sheds and pooping everywhere.
Along comes a lady from Invercargill with her little tick sheet. She stands outside the Gore aviary and decides she is not happy with the way the peacocks are housed. She complains to the council and suddenly the peacocks have to go. The council stress that the peacocks will go to a good home, but Bob is just told to get rid of them.
They could easily have enlarged the peacock enclosure and had actually measured it out, but choose to do nothing. The vets thought the enclosure should be bigger, but acknowledged the birds were not showing any sign of stress.
Bob has had the peacocks for 12 years and the male has known no other life.
The cages are kept spotless, the birds are fed greens each day from Bob's own garden and they are well looked after.
The council has undermined and completely disrespected a good man who knows far more than they do about looking after birds.
REPLY — The Gore District Council has worked closely with Bob over the years, and has greatly valued his support with the aviary.
The physical structure of the aviary has changed over the years, with the location of different birds being moved around and enclosure sizes changing.
With the peacocks, we have received a number of concerns, raised by various people, over many years and the SPCA became involved in 2024 and highlighted that the peacock enclosure was not big enough for a bird of that size. It was not possible to enlarge the enclosure to a suitable size, due to the constraints created by nearby protected trees, without significant cost, and/or removing other birds housed in the aviary.
The SPCA has the authority under the Animal Welfare Act 1999 to enforce minimum standards for the care and treatment of animals, and as such, Gore District Council was required to act.
After consulting with a vet, rehoming them was the best option for the peacocks.
We explored possibilities for re-homing the peacocks, but ultimately, once it became clear the peacocks could not stay in their enclosure for their own wellbeing, we left the decision on their future home up to Bob, who has looked after them for many years.
— Gore District Council parks and recreation manager Keith McRobie
