Yobs kill family’s beloved pet peacock with slingshots and catapults – before contacting owners to say ‘You are going to be next’
Yobs killed a family’s beloved peacock by shooting it more than 20 times with slingshots and slingshots before contacting the owners to warn them: “You’re next.”
A family was left in tears after watching CCTV footage of their peacock, which they rescued from its violent previous owners, being brutally murdered by the sadistic group.
River’s owner, Alison Carter, 57, posted the CCTV camera footage of a neighbor of the suspects on Facebook, showing five boys and a girl shooting at the peacock perched in a tree.
One member of the twisted group sent her daughter Macey, 23, a message threatening: “Your peacock is six feet underwater and you’re next.”
Alison and her family rescued River (pictured) almost six years ago after he was left in a small box without sunlight and was found ‘featherless and scared’.
Now their beloved pet has been killed by a group of thugs who caught them shooting at River with slingshots
‘Devastated’ owner Alison Carter (pictured), 57, said River was ‘part of the family’, behaved ‘like a dog’ and even allegedly ‘trusted’ the group of strangers who killed him
In the sickening footage, three of the boys are seen pelting River more than 20 times from the road before climbing over the fence onto the roof of a private property to continue their attack on the innocent bird.
A petrified and wounded river, which Alison claims has ‘trusted’ the group of strangers, is seen falling from the tree, fluttering around in distress and cowering in a corner.
Horrifyingly, the gang continues to target him from the roof before two rush forward, grabbing River by his wings and holding him up as a trophy before someone rips out his feathers.
They flee like cowards after trying to hide his blood-soaked body in the corner behind a piece of wood.
Alison, 57, said: ‘I was devastated and I still am. He was part of the family, he played and walked around with our dog Ziggy.
“He was like a dog: he followed you, he came into the kitchen, he would have trusted them.”
They rescued River almost six years ago after he was found “featherless and scared” in a small box without sunlight.
Alison said: ‘We built the trust and he became tame, friendly and happy for his freedom.’
They told the police and have the names of the suspects after sharing a snapshot of the CCTV footage on Facebook.
Her daughter Macey, who received the threat from one of the group members, said: “We don’t feel safe right now.”
They have stopped the five other peacocks from roaming freely as they fear the offenders will return.
After Alison posted the sickening images on Facebook, a member of the crazed group sent her daughter Macey (pictured), 23, a message threatening: ‘Your peacock is six feet under and you’re next’
In the video, a petrified and injured River can be seen falling from the tree, fluttering around in distress, and huddled in the corner.
The CCTV footage shows them trying to hide River’s blood-soaked body in the corner behind a bush before the group flees like cowards.
Alison says the day after River was killed, someone fired a slingshot at one of her dogs, leaving a wound that drew blood.
Macey added: “It would be disturbing if River died on his own terms, but the fact that he was brutally murdered makes it even worse.
“He came up to you and ate from your hand. He was so tame and friendly. It was an evil act that didn’t have to happen at all.’
They said the community has rallied and is as shocked as they are.
Alkson said: “Everyone knew him – he was a really big character. We hope the police do something: slingshots are a deadly weapon.
‘He’s not just a bird, he’s part of the family. These people must be punished, something must be done now.’
It comes after two slingshots and 62 ball bearings were seized from two boys shooting at wild animals in nearby Paddock Wood.
On social media, someone wrote: ‘Don’t blur their faces. These are the same horrible little creatures that shoot at our cats and dogs on the roadside.
‘Let them be seen. The police have been called while they were doing stuff like this, but they never show up.”
Another commented: ‘These types of abnormalities start with insects and the like, then larger animals and then move on to attacking humans.’