Florida man charged after killing, cooking, eating two of his pet peacocks

Craig Vogt has been arrested and charged with aggravated animal cruelty after allegedly killing, cooking and eating two of his peacocks.

The incident stemmed from an ongoing dispute with a neighbour who insisted on feeding the man’s peacocks in Hudson, Florida.

The 61-year-old was arrested on a serious criminal charge of aggravated animal cruelty, according to an affidavit from the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, on September 23.

Craig in his defense told investigators that he had killed the two peacocks because his neighbour kept feeding them.

He had specifically written a letter telling her that he would continue to kill his pet peacocks if she kept feeding them, to prove a point. The affidavit did not clearly mention how many peacocks he kept.

The affidavit further declared: “The man admitted to killing the bird by cutting the bird’s neck out of spite, bleeding them out, and then later eating the bird after cooking it on a frying pan.”

Craig has publicly proclaimed that he would kill all of his pet peacocks upon release to prevent anyone from taking them.

The Pasco County sheriff’s office did not convey any immediate response about the fate of the remaining peacocks.

Additionally, it has been declared that Craig's progressing conflict with his neighbour and the subsequent killing of the birds was an exceptional case and there is no public safety threat.