Peacock is India's national bird and is a protected species under the Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
The Goa unit of Congress today said the BJP-led state government's decision to include the national bird, peacock, in the list of nuisance animals was suicidal and against ecology.
"It is a nuisance that you want to kill the national bird and also do away with the state animal (Indian Bison). This means you want to kill the ecology and the wildlife," Goa Congress chief Luizinho Faleiro said.
Agriculture Minister Ramesh Tawadkar yesterday announced that peacock and bison have been classified as 'vermin' (nuisance animals) as they damage crops.
"This is a suicidal decision. If animals and birds create nuisance, government should find a solution. Killing them is definitely not an option," Mr Faleiro said.
Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Pratapsingh Rane, who had demanded in the recent session that monkeys be declared as vermin, said there were other ways of dealing with peacock trouble.
"Peacocks can be controlled. It is not a new bird to Goa or India. It is a North Indian bird that has travelled to Goa. There is equipment developed in North India where they create a sound and peacocks run away. They are beautiful birds and they need to be preserved," the senior Congress leader said.
Mr Rane also blamed the government for failure to control the "outflow of wild animals into human settlements". "Wild boars and certain species of monkeys should be declared as vermin," he added.
Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar had said during the session that monkeys and few other animals would be declared as vermin as they damage the crops, and even cases of monkey fever had been reported in the state.