Anna Wintour Makes A Peacock’s Feathers Fan

PETA piqued by peacock playthings, Post reports (Anna Wintour angle always appreciated):

Bird-huggers’ feathers are ruffled over a celeb-packed gala thrown by Vogue editrix Anna Wintour — where her minions allegedly scared peacocks into serving as cruel party decorations.

PETA claims organizers used rabbits — which peacocks see as a threat — to frighten the fowl into seeking shelter on dangerous, swinging perches eight feet off the ground.

Although the perched birds appeared as nothing more than stately additions to the soiree decor, they were actually fearing for their lives, PETA says.

. . .

Vogue, the Metropolitan Museum of Art — where the party was held — and the trainer that brought the peacocks all deny scaring the birds or treating them cruelly.

Bird handler Norman Johnson admitted, however, placing “a single guinea pig” in a small carrier inside the birdcage to make them strut with their fantails fully extended.

Four peacocks were on display at the Costume Institute Gala, hosted by Wintour. Partygoers — including Scarlett Johansson, Kate Moss, Kirsten Dunst and Lindsay Lohan — paid up to $6,500 for a seat.

. . .

Bird keeper Johnson said that he never used rabbits.

“I can see where they would deduce that from logic, but that wasn’t true at all,” said Johnson, who has bred peacocks for 16 years.

He said that to get the birds on the perch, he placed one there and the rest followed on their own.

“They acted a bit dazed and confused for the first hour. I expected that. And then one of the organizer’s designers asked if I would put [one of them] on a perch. I did that, and after a while, the others followed,” he said.

He also said he used a few tricks get the birds to show their plumes. He kept them from mating for a month so that at party time they would be more likely to do their mating displays. He said he also put mirrors up in the cage, because peacocks often spread their feathers when they see their reflections.