Yobs killed a family’s beloved peacock by shooting it more than 20 times with slingshots and catapults, before contacting the owners to warn them: “you will be next”.
A family was left in tears after watching River, their peacock, who they had rescued from her previous violent owners, be brutally killed by the sadistic group on CCTV footage.
River’s owner, Alison Carter, 57, posted footage of the suspects from a neighbor’s CCTV camera on Facebook, showing five boys and a girl shooting the peacock perched in a tree.
One member of the twisted group sent a threatening message to his daughter Macey, 23: “Your peacock is 6 feet under and you will be next.”
Alison and her family rescued River (pictured) almost six years ago after he was kept in a small box without sunlight and found “featherless and scared”.
Now their beloved pet has been killed by a group of thugs they caught shooting at River with catapults.
“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 took him kill.
In the sickening footage, three of the boys are seen throwing River more than 20 times from the road before climbing over the fence and onto the roof of a private property to continue their assault on the innocent bird.
A petrified and injured River, who Alison says would have “trusted” the group of strangers, is seen falling from the tree, thrashing around in distress and cowering in a corner.
Unfortunately, the gang continues to target him from the roof before two of them rush in, grab River by his wings and hold him up like a trophy, before one of them plucks out his feathers.
They flee like cowards after trying to hide his bloodied body in a corner behind some woods.
Alison, 57, said: “I was devastated, and still am. He was part of the family, playing and walking with our dog Ziggy.
“He was like a dog: he followed you everywhere, he came into the kitchen, he trusted them.”
They rescued River almost six years ago after he was kept in a small box without sunlight and found “featherless and scared.”
Alison said: “We built a trusting relationship and he became tame, friendly and happy with his freedom.”
They informed the police and have the names of the suspects after sharing a snapshot of the CCTV footage on Facebook.
His daughter Macey, who was sent threats by one of the group, said: “We don’t feel safe now. »
They have stopped their other five peacocks from roaming freely because they fear the offenders will return.
After Alison posted the sickening images to Facebook, a member of the twisted group sent a message to her daughter Macey (pictured), 23, threatening her: “Your peacock is 6 feet under and you will be next.”
In the video, a petrified and injured River is seen falling from the tree, flailing in distress and cowering in a corner.
CCTV footage shows them trying to hide River’s blood-soaked body in a corner behind a wood before the group runs away like cowards.
Alison says that the day after River died, someone fired a catapult at one of her dogs, leaving a wound that drew blood.
Macey added: “It would be heartbreaking if River died on his own terms, but it’s the fact that he was brutally killed that makes it even worse.
“He would come up to you and feed from your hand, he was so tame and friendly – it was an evil act that didn’t need to happen at all.”
They said the community stepped up and was just as dismayed as they were.
Alkson said: “Everyone knew him – he was a very big character. We hope the police will do something: catapults are a deadly weapon.
“It’s not just a bird, it’s part of the family. These people must be punished, something must be done now.
It comes after two catapults and 62 ball bearings were seized from two boys shooting at wildlife in nearby Paddock Wood.
On social media, someone wrote: “Don’t blur their faces. These are the same horrible little creatures that come shooting at our cats and dogs just along the road from here.
“Let them be seen. The police were called while she was doing this sort of thing and they never showed up.
Another commented: “Deviants like this start with insects and such, then larger animals, then attack humans. »
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