Peafowl Politics Fly into City Council Chambers

BY BILL KOENEKER

Springtime on Point Dume means the mating season for the wild peafowl that roam the small peninsula. And as sure as the season arrives, there appears to be new residents who complain about them. The issue has come up several times in the past with Malibu City Council members repeatedly siding with the wild birds.

That was the case again this Monday night when Charlene Kabrin, a Point Dume resident who likes the birds, came to council chambers to inform them of the unfolding events.

Mayor Jeff Jennings picked up on what Kabrin was talking about. “The problem has come up before about the wild peacocks living on Point Dume for many many years,” said Jennings, who asked that the information be forwarded to the city manager for further review and handling.

Jennings was talking about in 1999 and again in 2005 when the council tackled the issue of the feral status of the birds.

On several occasions some homeowners have been cited for either feeding the birds or allegedly keeping them on their property. The citations were issued by the Los Angeles County Animal Control Department, which contracts for services for Malibu.

City council members during both occasions intervened, insisting that the peafowl were wild.

Members have repeatedly said it was most fitting that former City Manager Harry Peacock have the last word on the matter. Peacock, in a definitive statement endorsed by successive councils wrote, “If the peafowl are not domestic, what responsibility does any property owner have to keep them off their property? For example, there is a flock of green parrots in Malibu which fly all over the city. I am afraid your department has tumbled into a neighborhood dispute of some kind.”

The animal control department, at that time, then took a closer look at the legal interpretation of game fowl confinement and/or ownership, and concluded the birds aren’t being housed or confined in any way—that they are free to come and go at will.

The department head said his staff “acted in haste when we issued the order,” and the matter seemed resolved.

However, in 2005, the animal control department, much like this year, again issued an order. Councilmembers agreed, at the time, to issue their own set of policies about wild animals in Malibu. Those policies were again reiterated when the city renewed a contract for services with animal control.

Jennings, at this week’s meeting, said he thought it might be new staff who were not familiar with the city’s policy. “They may not be sensitive to how we have worked this out,” added Jennings, “We have gone through this before.”

Kabrin, who is a Realtor, has said in the past she believes that the complaints may be generated from new residents who do not read or chose to ignore the Malibu real estate disclosure regarding local wildlife, which is a mandatory disclosure given to all buyers of real estate in Malibu.