ROME — Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s party has picked a new fight with an unlikely political target: peacocks.

Footage of the birds has been trending on social media as they roam the streets of Punta Marina, a beach resort on Italy’s Adriatic coast, where residents complain of sleepless nights caused by mating calls, droppings and damage to roofs and cars.

The birds became comfortable in residential areas during the quiet years of the Covid pandemic, and the population boomed to about 100, with residents saying the situation has become an intolerable quality-of-life problem.

With the peacocks now attracting international attention, Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party is attempting to transform local frustration into a political issue, accusing the local council, run by the left-wing Democratic Party, of paralysis and promising action.

Ruling party politicians called a public meeting on Monday, accusing the opposition-led local council of failing to tackle what has become one of the most divisive local issues.

The meeting is intended to address the need for a “political and administrative response” to the growing number of complaints about damage to gardens and cars, hygiene issues related to droppings, and disturbance of the peace, local party representatives told Ravenna Today news site. In a tourist town, it is essential to “ensure urban decorum and the protection of private property,” the party said.

One of the organizers of the meeting, city councilor Anna Greco, has described the situation to local media as “almost unbearable,” saying residents have endured years of “unsustainable co-existence” with the birds, and calling for relocation measures.

The peacocks have been present in the area since at least 2014. Residents say the birds wander through private gardens, climb onto rooftops and cars, and scream at night near homes and hotels, with repeated attempts to tackle the problem failing.