I sometimes get frantic phone calls from folks who just moved to Hawai’i after they hear gunshots and see people running up into the mountains. I can understand this. After all, hunters with guns are not exactly beautiful girls in hula skirts. Most calm down when I explain that these are hunters and they are pursuing a goat and/or a pig, many times for a family luau. But I am always amazed when newcomers to our island are upset when they encounter a gecko. Geckos are our friends, I tell them, but some just can’t get over it. Hawai’i has mongoose, rodents, and a variety of insects. Thank goodness we don’t have bears, snakes, or alligators.

We do, however, have peacocks. They were introduced to Hawai’i in the 1800s and are spectacularly beautiful birds. The problem is that they are ridiculously loud during mating season.  So loud in fact, that the residents of a nearby complex thought it funny to circulate a “peacock stew” recipe. It all took a tragic turn one day when a woman couldn’t stand it anymore and beat one to death with a baseball bat. She was already on edge because of the noise, but when it dared to stare at her while it defecated in the community barbecue pit, well, that was the last straw.

It was an especially brutal killing and the community was horrified. However, not many folks knew that the peacocks were already being systemically killed in an attempt to control their population. They are not protected animals and you don’t need permission to kill them.

She soon began receiving death threats after telling people that she had every intention of cooking the bird. She was arrested, and charged with cruelty to animals and the State decided to prosecute. The jury eventually found her not guilty and she has since moved to the mainland – no doubt to somewhere very quiet.

🔑 Make sure your customers or clients understand the area and cultural practices before moving in.