Dozens of villagers hold funeral for beloved wild peacock killed in hit-and-run
Peacock was laid to rest in a bespoke coffin complete with flowers and his favourite snacks, blueberry muffins
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Your support makes all the difference.Dozens of villagers have attended the funeral of a beloved peacock that was killed in a hit-and-run crash on New Year’s Day.
Residents of Grouville, Jersey bid farewell to Henry Percy, a 15-year-old male peacock, in an emotional 40-minute service outside their parish hall on Saturday.
Henry Percy was laid to rest in a bespoke coffin complete with flowers and his favourite snacks, blueberry muffins.
He was described by Constable Mark Labey as the “Grouville Parish Hall mascot”, who had a particular soft spot for blueberries, bananas, grapes, raisins and peanuts, the Jersey Evening Post reported.
Mr Labey, who led the service attended by around 40 people, reminisced on Henry Percy’s habit of wandering into the road, adding that it was clear the exotic bird had not read the Highway Code.
“His voice carried all over the parish… He was kind of the welcomer to Grouville,” Mr Labey told the local paper. “I only saw him display a couple of times, and to see that is an absolute wonder of nature.”
“Millions of years of evolution have come to this,” he added. “We’re just going to miss him.”
The end of the service was marked by mourners attempting to make their own peacock sound as a final send-off.
Peacocks are wild animals and cannot be pets, but one attendee, Wendy Durell, claimed she was the closest thing the “beautiful bird” had to an owner.
She told the Jersey Evening Post that her father Martin gave Henry Percy his name.
“My dad was proud of him and hand-fed him,” she told the paper.
She described him as “quite regal, the way he walked about the place” and recalled seeing local children feed him before going to school, and herself feeding him blueberries from her breakfast, and peanuts before he went to roost for the night.
Upon hearing the news of his passing, tributes on social media began pouring in.
“So so sad , I live at the top of Grouville hill and saw him quite often around the Parish and he was so beautiful. Will miss seeing him,” one resident commented.
Another said: “I’m so sad to read this. When I lived in the area I would often come across Henry on my early morning runs. He was absolutely beautiful. So very sad for everyone who knew him, but especially for Wendy, my heart goes out to you.”
The local added that although they couldn’t make the bird’s funeral, they would “make some blueberry muffins in his memory” instead.
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