Florida man killed and ate his pet peacocks, authorities say

In this file photo from April 26, 2014, a male peacock displays its tail feathers at Gut Aiderbichl in Henndorf, Austria. (Kerstin Joensson / The Associated Press)

Graphic warning: Some of the details below may be distressing to readers.

HUDSON, Fla. — A man on Florida’s Gulf Coast has been charged with animal cruelty after authorities said he killed, cooked and ate two of his pet peacocks.

The 61-year-old man from Hudson, Florida, was arrested last week on a third-degree felony charge of aggravated animal cruelty, according to an affidavit from the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office.

The man told investigators that he had killed the two peacocks because his neighbour kept feeding them. He had written the neighbour a letter telling her that he would continue to kill his pet peacocks if she kept feeding them “to prove a point,” according to the affidavit, which didn’t say how many peacocks he kept.

The man “admitted to killing the bird by cutting the bird’s neck out of spite, then bleeding it out, and then later eating the bird after cooking it on a frying pan,” the affidavit said.

While he was being taken to jail, the man told deputies that he would kill all of his pet peacocks upon release to prevent anyone from taking them, the sheriff’s office report said.

The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office on Monday didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry about the fate of the remaining peacocks.

An online docket showed no attorney listed for the man.

The Associated Press