Barkly Street businesses have been terrorised by vandals who have caused considerable damage by scraping paint from cars, stealing windscreen wipers, and attacking signage.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Despite the culprits' identity being known, they have not been charged as they are, in fact, crows.
Many businesses on the south side of Barkly Street use a minor road to access parking behind their shops.
Nutrien Harcourts Ararat is one such business. Officer in effective control Greg Kerr said for a long time the crows and the business occupants coexisted peacefully before something suddenly changed.
"We've been parking there for a number of years and have had no problems whatsoever," he said.
READ MORE:
"The crows had started hanging around some of the open garbage bins that were missing lids. That has all been resolved, but before that, they would get into the bins, make a bit of a mess and eat a bit of food. But they were no harm to anybody.
"As soon as the bins were rectified, the crows decided to - we think - take revenge, which sounds rather funny, but if our cars are an example, it would cost thousands of dollars damage all the way along from the town hall to the bakery up here.
"They're ripping off windscreen wipers every time you put on a new set, they are scratching people's cars, damaging anything and everything attached to the car, and even pulling the rubber out above the windscreen. I had to get mine re-polished because there were scratches everywhere, and the same with my rental car."
OTHER NEWS:
Nutrien Harcourts Ararat is not the only business to suffer the crows' wrath.
Skinco manager Sarah Holland said the damage was so widespread that many people had to start parking elsewhere.
"There are quite a few businesses that have had their cars damaged by the crows when they had parked them out on the back laneway," she said.
"We did notify the city council about what was going on because we all had to park in the main street as the damage was just too expensive."
Ms Holland said the crows have also damaged buildings.
MORE NEWS:
"We had new windows put in a few months ago and they've scratched all the windows upstairs," she said.
"We called a company to try and deal with them and they just said they've never heard of anything like it from crows and that it was really unusual behaviour."
Yet there are signs the crows' reign of terror may be coming to an end.
"They've eased off now, which is really good," Ms Holland said.
"We've been able to start parking at the back again but it was crazy."
While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox from The Ararat Advertiser. To make sure you're up-to-date with all the news from across the Ararat shire, sign up here.
