Dubai: An unusual sight greeted passers-by on Wednesday afternoon around Dusit Thani Hotel on Shaikh Zayed Road as two peahens wandered about, taking people’s minds off the searing heat.
Two of the hotel’s concierges, Arnie and Kareem, said they spotted the birds behind the hotel near the parking lot close to Jones the Grocer.
Esmeralda Spies, manager at Jones the Grocer and Nippon Bottle Co, said she heard about the peahens gracing the site on the radio while on her way to work. As soon she reached her office, she went to look for them.
“I saw the two near the side entrance of the restaurant. I called my husband and said, ‘Why did the peacock cross the road?’ You know, like the chicken. ‘Maybe to have breakfast,’” Spies said.
Though the hotel staff told her they have seen stray pets in the area before, it was the first time they had seen peahens. The birds, Spies said, may have strayed from a home nearby.
“I could tell these are female because they did not have colourful plumage, just a few coloured feathers around their necks. I know because I was brought up on a farm.” Spies said.
The hotel said they called Dubai Municipality to take the peahens to safety. The security at the hotel made all attempts to keep the birds safe and tried to keep them from crossing the road.
Dr Hashem Al Awadhi, Head of Veterinarian Services at Dubai Municipality, said that in such cases, the municipality follows certain procedures.
“We have a team for animal control. Runaway animals can disturb the public, or cause accidents,” he said.
For animals that are registered with them, the municipality gives owners three days to come and pick them up. “They can take the pet after they pay a fine, because they neglected it and caused it to stray.”
For camels who have strayed, the fine is Dh2,000 per head, while for all other animals it is Dh500.
The pet is handed back to the owner after they pay the fine and sign an undertaking that they will not allow the incident to be repeated.
In cases where there are no inquiries about the missing pet, Al Awadhi said that “for example, with camels, after a week, we auction them at public auction”.
Keeping peacocks or peahens as pets is not illegal, he said, as long as they are one or two in number.
“We receive calls about such cases on our hotline 800900 and we also have municipality patrols which, if they come across such incidents, follow procedures,” he said.
