Clearwater resident can’t keep pet peacock, against city ordinance police say

Fate of Pip the peacock unknown because of city rules

FOX 13's Kailey Tracy reports.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The fate of a pet peacock is uncertain after Clearwater police say its owners are in violation of a city ordinance by having him.

Five months ago, Kira Viveiros and her brother found an egg in their backyard in Clearwater.

She said bird sanctuaries in the area that she reached out to tell her the egg wasn’t viable.

"I didn't touch it for three days because, you know, if you touch an egg, the mom won’t come back," Viveiros said. "The bird sanctuary did say, ‘the mom will come back. Don’t worry,’ but it never did," she said.

Viveiros, who grew up on a farm and is an animal lover, though, took matters into her own hands and bought an incubator. A month later, it hatched.

"He made the initial break, which is called a pip, and that's why we named him Pip," she said.

She researched how to take care of him, and even started building a house for him her backyard.

"We had him just in the house because hawks are a big deal. We have them in the neighborhood, you know, there are a lot of predators when they're that small. So, we just kept him inside," Viveiros said.

"He cuddles with us. He loves when you sing to him. We trained him and stuff. He's a total pet and such a love bug and everything," she said.

Viveiros said Pip loves watching ‘Love Island’ too.

Monday, though, she said someone visiting her neighbor called police.

"I think what happened was that she had a friend over and her friend is the one who called the police and called a few bird sanctuaries. I mean, Pip's a white peacock. They're very rare. Not many of them are out there in the world, and he's a bit bigger, so I think they thought I just captured a bird, but that's not what happened," Viveiros said.

Several peacocks roam around her Clearwater neighborhood as well.

Dig deeper:

Clearwater Police told her having the peacock is against city ordinance, and she needed to release him into the wild.

She says he’s domesticated, though, and wouldn’t survive in the wild. Clearwater Police say they warned her she could face fines for potential code violations.

"There are farms that could take him, but he can just be outside. He's not going to know what to do," Viveiros said.

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She says some bird sanctuaries she’s reached out to say they’re not able to take Pip.

Viveiros has also reached out to Clearwater City Council with pictures, signatures from several neighbors saying they’re ok with Pip and an online petition with more than 300 signatures.

"He's not even a bird. He's just this beautiful being that we love so much. I've learned so much, too from it. It sounds stupid, you know, some people will understand, and if you're an animal lover, but he's the smartest little guy ever," she said.

What's next:

Late Friday afternoon, Viveiros said police came back, called Animal Control and local bird sanctuaries who, she said, told police they couldn’t come get Pip because he’s domesticated.

She says police told her she has to get rid of him on Friday, or they’ll fine her a few thousand dollars. Viveiros said she is able to bring him to a farm in Odessa while she figures things out.

FOX 13 also reached out to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

An agency spokesperson said it doesn’t regulate peacocks, and that regulations around the animal are up to the jurisdiction of local governments.

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