Overview

• Hotel staff discovered that 37 of the 40 peafowl vanished over a span of four days, leaving only four birds by Sunday.
• Hotel employees have voiced fears that the birds may be destined for cockfighting rings or illicit exotic-animal markets.
• Sgt. Amar Gandhi of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the birds’ individual worth of $1,000 to $2,000 elevates the case to felony theft under state law.
• Authorities have received public tips and are combing local eyewitness accounts along with limited rural surveillance to locate the missing flock.
• Hotel management has installed new cameras and is considering additional fencing to shield the remaining peafowl and deter further thefts.