Birdwatcher Geoffrey Dabb is worried about the peacocks which strut their stuff all over Narrabundah.
They are birds - and Geoff loves birds - but birds can get bird flu. And birds with bird flu might give it to dogs.
"This is the headquarters of the peafowl here," he said outside his home on Brockman Street (using the non-gender-specific name - peacocks are male and peahens are female).
But bird flu is spreading across Australia. The current strain H5 avian flu has just crossed a species barrier, moving from wild birds to seals. The fear is that it reaches poultry, and so devastates an industry. Humans, too, would be at albeit remote risk of lung disease.
Mr Dabb has two dogs which have strange habits: "The dogs love eating peafowl poo. It's their favorite food. It's like truffles.
"You'd have to be worried about them getting bird flu because dogs can get it. Apparently, cats are more likely to but dogs certainly get it. And they're in very close contact with peafowls here. And, of course, they eat the poo, so there we are."
But peafowl are very divisive in Canberra. Some see them as fowl which foul the streets, impede traffic and make loud noises as they prepare to mate.
Others are charmed by them. The Save The Narrabundah Peafowl group has 4000 followers on Facebook.
The peafowl fans' fear is for the birds themselves. "We are highly concerned that if the bird flu is introduced it can potentially decimate our peafowl population that has lived in this part of Canberra for over thirty years," the Narrabundah Peafowlers group said.
"Over the years, our peafowl have become a quirky part of Narrabundah's identity, admired by residents and visitors alike."
But the sceptics who aren't such big fans of the birds say: If in doubt, get rid of them.
"Removing them will not stop bird flu reaching Canberra but it will remove one unnecessary biosecurity risk," one Narrabundah resident who did not want to be named told The Canberra Times.
"These birds are an introduced, localised population that returns to the same roosting sites every night. With an estimated population of around 80 birds, they are one of the few wild bird populations that could realistically be managed.
"The consequences of an outbreak could extend well beyond wild birds. Highly pathogenic avian influenza can devastate backyard poultry and commercial flocks. Cats have become infected overseas after hunting or eating infected birds and while dogs appear less susceptible, infections have also been reported."
There's no doubt that the peafowl are popular. Bus loads of tourists go to see them in Narrabundah, according to Tim DeWan who organises the Narrabundah Peafowlers group.
"Whilst we understand authorities will have priorities for native wildlife, we would welcome any ACT government help to preserve our local peafowl," he said.
He conceded that vaccinating the birds would be expensive.
He also said that the risk of what he estimated as about 40 peafowl contracting the flu was "minimal" compared to that posed by the tens of thousands of wild birds which migrate to and through the ACT every day.
In 2019, the ACT government called off a cull of the birds after a local outcry. It had received complaints about the birds being a traffic hazard - they tend to walk slowly and are reluctant to get out of the way.
There is no doubt that the birds have developed a devoted following. Some local people give peacocks grand names like Perseus or Prospero. They refer to chicks as boys or girls, as in: "Perseus thought it was time a peaboy reappeared on these (Facebook) pages."
In 2021, the ACT government commissioned a safety study after ten peacocks died in one spot in 18 months. In the end, warning signs were put up.
Nobody quite knows how the peafowl got to be there. One theory is that some got out when a small animal park on Mugga Lane closed down.
