Bilton’s Peter the Peacock living his best life in Lancashire

Bilton’s Peter the Peacock is now happily living among fellow peacocks on a farm in Lancashire.

Peter had wandered around the Tennyson Avenue area for years and was considered part of Bilton. Facebook and Twitter accounts were set up in honour of the enigmatic bird.

But in June last year Peter vanished, which shocked the local community.

It emerged a resident had contacted the RSPCA about Peter after he was seen limping, and the colourful creature was whisked away to the vets for treatment.

Residents in Bilton mobilised and considered launching a campaign to bring the bird back. Bilton councillor Paul Haslam even offered to rehome him on his farm.

But their efforts were in vain, as the RSPCA said they had already found a new home for him.

A year on from the saga, the Stray Ferret asked the RSPCA for an update on Peter, and it’s good news.

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After visiting the vets, Peter crossed the Pennines for rehab with a specialist keeper in Lancashire.

He has since been happily rehomed on a farm with other peacocks, also in Lancashire.

His new owner said:

“Peter is doing really well and he enjoys wandering around on 400 acres of nearby farm land. He no longer limps on his right leg and he enjoys sleeping in his own barn.

“He tends to keep himself to himself but has the company of three other peacocks when he is feeling sociable. We love having him and are delighted that he is happy here.”

An RSPCA spokesperson said it’s the “perfect home” for Peter:

“Peter lived for many years on his own but was found to be injured.

“He was returned to full health in our care and a new home was found with many other peacocks for company where he will be able to spend the rest of his days.

“We are grateful to the residents who cared for him but it would have been illegal under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to release him back into the wild in Bilton because peacocks are classed as a non-native species. Fortunately, we were able to find him the perfect place to live in Lancashire.”

Strayside Sunday: Let’s ruffle a few feathers

Strayside Sunday is our weekly political opinion column. It is written by Paul Baverstock, former Director of Communications for the Conservative Party. 

Not since the hay day of Dawn French’s The Vicar of Dibley have Parish Councils had so much exposure. In the aftermath of Jackie Weaver’s break-out Zoom performance at Handforth Parish Council, local Mayor Barry Burkhill now faces a vote of no confidence because, it is alleged, he did nothing to halt the bullying and laddish behaviour that was very much in evidence.

Here at home, Killinghall Parish Council is at odds with the people it represents.  It seems that a local gang of ruffians have been behaving badly; hanging around street corners, stealing food, squealing and squawking at night, leaving their mess in the streets, giving people the bird.  The Parish Council has labelled the gang “feral” and pleaded with local residents not to encourage them.

I’m all for law and order; tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime and all that; but I give my full-throated support to the vocal locals and take up their Facebook cry, “save the Killinghall 8.”  Yes, a loud, proud, feather-fanning peacock and his harem of peahens are strutting around the village as if they own the place.

Parish councillors have used their Facebook page to plead with local people to give the birds a wide berth and not encourage them by leaving food.  Killinghall residents have used their own Facebook page to hit back in support of what they call these “awesome birds” that are “part of our village identity.”  Local competition is at play here too; just down the road, Bilton’s famed Peter the Peacock has his own Facebook page and can boast over 500 followers.

It turns out, by the way, that peacocks are not indigenous.  It is thought the magnificent birds were brought here from India by the Romans.  What did they ever do for us?  Cement, roads, canals, viaducts, personal hygiene and peacocks; who knew?  According to the RSPB, peacocks and peahens in the wild (as opposed to in Killinghall or in Bilton) survive largely on a diet of grass.  They can live off the land, quite happily, without human intervention.  Perhaps therein lies the solution to this unseemly stand-off.  Killinghall Parish Council should resist its jobsworth impulses to be seen to be doing something important and local residents should be left free to appreciate these great birds; but not to treat them as domesticated pets.

My dodgy ticker means that I’m classed as clinically vulnerable and therefore advised to stay indoors and Covid-safe.  And, as lockdown drags on I look longingly through my sitting room window at my parked car on the street opposite.  I’m not a Clarkson supporting “petrol head” but I do like to drive my car.  It’s quick, handles like a dream and, given it is an electric hybrid, produces both limited emissions and is just enough of a virtue signal for me to get an environmentally friendly pass from my Generation Z daughters.

Regular readers of this column will know the loathing I feel for the use of hyperbolic language to inflame the often mundane but nonetheless important situation to the point where heat obscures light.  The “war on motorists” is one such turn of phrase.  Really?  Ok, cars are not as interesting to look at as they used to be.  They don’t growl and belch smoke as much as in the old days.  They use much less carbon fuel and produce far fewer emissions.  They are safer, both for their passengers and for the occasional pedestrian they collide with.  All this must be progress, I suppose.

However, passions flare when the interests of cyclists or the walker are introduced into the discussion.  Much kerfuffle has resulted this week from North Yorkshire County Council’s use of a LTN (Low Traffic Neighbourhood) experimental order for Harrogate’s Beech Grove and Lancaster Road.  The order bans non-residential traffic and allows for the installation of barriers such as bollards and planters.  This is part of the county council’s plan to help address climate change and increase active travel to get our increasingly obese and (consequently) chronically unwell population off their spreading behinds.  Rather than getting bogged down in protracted public consultation, NYCC has shown the courage of its convictions and, for once, acted in the unambiguous common good.

Through gritted teeth and in the interests of balance I find I have to endorse, for this one time only, the words of Harrogate Borough Council leader Richard Cooper, “the fact of the matter is that we cannot pretend that traffic congestion, poor air quality, a diminishing environment and climate change can be solved without radical changes to our transport infrastructure and our personal travel habits.”  He is spot on.

I’ve used this column previously to agitate for a new and imaginative plan to reinvigorate what is now, in the age of Covid-19, a ghastly, ghostly Harrogate town centre.  When we emerge from lockdown (please let it be ‘when’) the county and borough councils need to act with the initiative shown by NYCC and its use of experimental orders.  We need to scrap moribund planning rules, encourage mixed use, bring in small and artisan business with grants and attractive rates, open enterprise zone workplaces for creative and technology business, create affordable residential space and yes, use imaginative shared-space traffic schemes that balance the access, safety and speed needs of car drivers, cyclists and pedestrians and that balance economic with environmental interests.  If we succeed we could be as proud as a Killinghall peacock.

That’s my Strayside Sunday.

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Do you have a view on this column or is there a political issue you’d like Paul to write about? Get in touch on paul@thestrayferret.co.uk

 

‘Feral’ peacocks causing damage in Killinghall

Killinghall Parish Council has pleaded with locals to stop feeding peacocks that it says are “feral” and causing damage to the village.

A post on the council’s Facebook page says the birds are damaging homes, gardens and vehicles, and people should “stop encouraging them” by giving them food.

It reads:

“Whilst these birds are beautiful to look at it must be emphasised that they are FERAL.

The parish council would be grateful if the birds were not to be encouraged, especially by leaving food out for them as they are causing damage to properties, gardens and vehicles in the village.”

Peacocks are also known for their loud and distinctive squark, with many councils across the country receiving complaints from residents about the noise.

‘I love to see them’

The majority of villagers on a Killinghall Facebook group have leaped to the defence of the “awesome birds”, with one person saying they are “part of our village identity”.

Another person said seeing the peacocks has a positive impact on their mental health:

“I think we are really blessed to have them in the village. I love to see them!”.

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Peacocks are classed as peafowl and are a non-indigenous species that are not covered by any UK wildlife protection laws.

Known for their extravagant display feathers, the birds were believed to be introduced from India by the Romans.

There was a suggestion that the Killinghall peacocks could be relocated outside of the village, which was unpopular with one local who said the peacocks have lived in fields that have now being built on with housing.

“We have invaded their home, it would be wrong to relocate them now”.

Another person conceded that the birds have caused scratches on the roof of their car “but that doesn’t bother me” as the car is old anyway.

Harrogate’s top peacock

A post on the RSPB’s forum says a large part of a peacock’s diet is grass, so there is no need to worry about their survival if they are not fed by humans.

The Killinghall birds rival Bilton’s Peter the peacock for Harrogate’s top peacock. Peter even has his own Facebook page with almost 500 followers.