PAIR OF TEENS TORTURE AND KILL PEACOCK
A PEACOCK has been tortured and killed at a park by two teenage thugs.
The louts smashed their way into a large aviary before killing the popular bird named Malcolm at Pittencrieff Park in Dunfermline, at about 11pm on Monday.
A second peacock called Louis was also badly injured during the sickening attack, said to have been witnessed by a young volunteer who helps care for the birds.
Peacocks have been a popular fixture in the area since 1905 when philanthropist Henry Beveridge returned to Dunfermline from India and gifted the park its first birds.
More than 20 of the colourful birds have the freedom of the Fife city and can be regularly seen strutting around the park and the town centre.
Police have launched a hunt for the “despicable” teens and it is believed the sick pair who carried out the attack may have been captured on CCTV.
A volunteer named Suzi posted details of the incident on the Facebook page Peacocks in Pittencreiff Park.
It read: “It is with a broken heart that I have to send you all extremely bad news. We found Louis in the outside roost. He had been badly hurt. The next few hours will be a testing time to get him through it, but we are hopeful.
“Malcolm was horribly tortured and killed. This was all witnessed by a young lad who volunteers at night to go and check on the birds.
“All I can say at the moment is, there were two young thugs aged 13 and 14 years old. They have left lovely pictures of themselves on CCTV. The police have reported to us that they know them and we now await what comes next for them.
“The aviary can be replaced and fixed up. But Malcolm could never be replaced, he was a one-off, beautiful natured boy, never ever known to harm anyone or anything.
“We will all miss him dreadfully – my heart is broken.”
Police Scotland confirmed that they had received reports of animal cruelty and added: “Officers are following a positive line of inquiry.”
A gofundme fundraising page set up to cover the cost of repairing the aviary has raised £3500 in just 12 hours.