ROLLING HILLS ESTATES (CBS) – An investigation is underway into who is shooting and killing peacocks and peahens in Rolling Hills Estates.

Los Angeles County Animal Control officers and sheriff’s deputies are looking into the deaths of five peafowl, two of which were shot with plastic pellets, according to the Torrance Daily Breeze.

Neighbors are deeply divided over the wild birds, which are loved by some, but reviled by others for their loud squawks and droppings, KNX 1070’s Jan Stevens reports.

“Up in this neighborhood, there are those that love them, and those that hate them,” Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Stanley Bailiff said.

The vibrantly-colored fowl roaming the neighborhood have been the subjects of lawsuits and high court rulings. Rolling Hills Estates protects peafowl and other wild birds with ordinances that prohibit them from being shot with any type of gun, the Breeze reported.