3 boys charged with killing peacocks in Riverview

RIVERVIEW, Fla. (FOX 13) - Three boys have been charged with animal cruelty for killing two wild peacocks in a Riverview neighborhood.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said the boys, who have not been identified and whose ages were not specified, admitted to hunting the peacocks for food on March 20.

According to investigators, the three young men had a sleepover with two other boys and decided to go hunting peacocks with air rifles in the middle of the night.

After shooting the birds, the juveniles began walking home with them, but dropped the peacocks in a storm drain when they thought a car was coming toward them.

A nearby resident later discovered the dead birds in the drain and called the sheriff's office.

Two of the boys in the group did not shoot a peacock and therefore are not facing charges.

The three young men who shot the two birds have been charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty.