To children visiting a zoo, peacocks are a big and colourful animal that illicit fascination. But to some residents of Surrey, B.C., the bird’s resplendent plumage isn’t so appreciated.

A good number of peacocks have apparently roamed wild in Surrey for some time, creating noise and, in some residents’ yards, a good deal of excrement.

One homeowner recently became so frustrated with the animals that he cut down a tree on his property where peacocks were nesting, the Surrey Leader reports. Now he’s facing a large fine issued by the city.

The affair has upset some of the man’s neighbours, who have said they’ve enjoyed having the peacocks around.

“The peacocks have been in the neighbourhood ever since I can remember,” Brent Short told the Surrey Leader. “We did this subdivision 12 years ago and it’s just been part of the neighbourhood, part of the atmosphere. Nobody complained about them, you get the odd poop on your front lawn but it’s not a big deal. They’re just beautiful and it’s a sad day.”

The homeowner who removed the tree is named Parm Brar. He's defended his action, telling the Vancouver Sun that the birds, "pushed me to the edge".

“It wasn’t fun for me,” Brar added. “But I tried every angle.”

On Monday (April 30), a Surrey bylaw officer issued Brar a $1,000 fine, the paper reports.

According to CBC News, the matter is now under investigation and the city could administer additional penalties.

"We take that unpermitted tree cutting very seriously in this city and we respond accordingly," Surrey bylaw-enforcement manager Jas Rehal told CBC News.

According to the Vancouver Sun, the residential neighbourhood of Surrey where the tree was cut down, Sullivan Heights, is home to more than 100 wild peacocks. Who knew?