Overview
- Video recorded by neighbors appears to show a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier throwing an object and then striking a white albino peacock on Mohawk Street, an encounter captured on home security cameras.
- The bird, nicknamed Sugar by locals, was found injured and was picked up by Los Angeles County Animal Control before being taken to the Pasadena Humane Society for veterinary evaluation.
- Pasadena Humane Animal Control launched an investigation and is canvassing the neighborhood for additional footage and witnesses to identify the carrier after the footage surfaced Tuesday.
- The USPS has acknowledged past run-ins between employees and neighborhood peacocks and says it is reviewing the employee’s conduct while the humane society has said animal-cruelty charges could be pursued if the allegations are substantiated.
- Peafowl have long roamed parts of Pasadena and nearby communities and are treated as local fixtures, which residents say has led to recurring, sometimes tense encounters between birds and postal workers and now raises questions about how to protect wildlife and workers going forward.