Last night, every member of Surrey Council voted in favour of a plan to remove around 100 peacocks from the Sullivan Heights area.

Staff say this will be done ethically after residents' raised concerns about the birds' impact on the community. Complaints have included everything from damaging vehicles to making noise to defecating.

The birds will be moved to the Surrey Animal Resource Centre.

This doesn't sit well with former Vancouver park commissioner and Surrey resident Roslyn Cassells, who has described the relocation plan as "risky".

"The media has done a cock-up on this issue as usual when it comes to animal issues," Cassells stated in a news release to the media last night. "An altercation between a local 80 year old resident and a trespassing aggressive bylaw officer was referred to as a 'peacock attack' on CBC Radio One this morning on the Early Edition despite the complete absence of peacocks in the scuffle."

In fact, she declared that the animals are most at risk, even though this is being characterized as a "public safety" issue by the city.

"Other than one person who slipped on the poop, and we are sorry for him, there have been no genuine safety issues, except to the peafowl themselves," Cassells stated. "The birds are often run over by speeding motorists and the city has refused to put in speed bumps to deal with the speedsters in an increasingly populous neighbourhood."

In April, Cassells announced that she will seek a seat on Surrey council in the October 20 election.