Do you think these folks are guilty of duck theft?

[Sunny Side Up]

I saw this story in our local news today: http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_c_palm_beach_county/west_palm_beach/dead-ducks-trial-

You can read my opinion on the matter in the comments by "AlertReader". I would really like to learn more details about the case, it makes me wonder just how & why it made it to court. Many gated communities here in South Florida have flocks of ducks that swim in their communal ponds but I don't think that many of them consider them actual property of the community. Few keep pens or houses for the ducks to go into at night, nor are they fed by any community employee. Most of these duck flocks forage for their own feed or rely on handouts from sympathetic homeowners. I don't know if the ducks in the video are the same ones this couple removed. The ducks shown look like Pekins, Rouens or Khakis, maybe Mallards, and Muscovies. Here in South Florida there are widespread flocks of feral Muscovies, they're like Kudzu with wings.

Perhaps this couple should have communicated with their HOA about their duck issues, and who knows, perhaps they did and couldn't get satisfaction. It doesn't seem that their intention was to kill the ducks, or to have them killed. The shelter they took them to is widely advertised as a NO-KILL facility, I wonder what they were told when they brought the ducks there.

Years ago, in a suburb of Miami, there was a flock of feral peacocks that roamed a particular neighborhood. Some folks loved them, others found them to be a nuisence. A young woman captured them and sold them to a ranch out in a more rural neighborhood. Some of the neighbors complained, and the woman offered to bring them back -- for a price. She was found to have done nothing illegal, since the peacocks were feral, not native nor personal property. But I think she had to move out of that neighborhood, because some folks picketed the local grocery store where she worked.

What do YOU think?

 

[Imp]

I suppose if the ducks were on private property the owners were not guilty of theft,
but if it was communal property probably guilty of theft, unless they had permission from the owner.
Either way just seems sad that they were killed.

Similiar issue here with people killing the resident geese. Seems to pop up a couple times a year.

Imp

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Whats wrong with the ducks being there? Honestly people get a life and complain about something else. She had NO right to take those ducks without talking about it with the rest of the community

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Quote:
The problem is what goes in their beaks & comes out their butts. Ducks can do a lot of damage to your landscaping and leave behind lots of watery poop. I myself am resigned to it because I keep -- and LOVE -- my own flock of ducks, which are contained in my own yard. But I can see how it could be a nuisance to someone else not so enamored of them.

In a community it becomes a problem when some folks provide large amounts of food for these ducks on a frequent basis. Those Muscovies can fly through the air and tend to congregate where there is easy feed available. They are also very fertile and their numbers can grow quickly.

It looks like there were also some domestic ducks in that flock. I don't know if the HOA paid for them and placed them in the community pond, or if other homeowners got them and "let them go free". I work the poultry tent at our county fair and often meet folks who want to buy ducklings for their community ponds. I don't advise it, and recommend instead that they plan to keep them in their own yards. It's like raising puppies & kittens to release into the neighborhood when they're grown.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

They removed the ducks from a community pond, according to the charges, not from their own yard. Imagine instead if they had removed a statue placed in the community park, or more to the point, a tree or shrub that grew as a volunteer from a seed (rather than being planted by the landscape company) that the board had decided to allow to remain. Typically the communty has a board of director who make decisions about community assets Making decisions about community assets is not within the rights of an individual member. If they had a problem with the ducks, they should have taken it to the board. Afterwards, if they did not like the board's decision, they could have circulated a petition to force the removal, or at least a community-wide vote on it. THAT would have been proper procedure.

 

[desertdarlene]

I think the facility they took them to has some answering to do, especially if they advertised themselves as a no-kill facility and killed them within an hour of arriving. I'm sure that's why they brought the ducks there, not expecting them to be killed. I saw the photos of the ducks as babies in someone's pool and following people around. Very sad.

If these were community ducks, I would expect that there is a HOA or some other community organization to manage the landscape and ponds. It would be critical that, if there was a problem, that it be addressed with these organizations first and get advice from neighbors.

I don't have a community pond in my immediate neighborhood, but we do have local lake-parks very close to my home with a lot of ducks both domestic and wild. I know a lot of these ducks personally and seen them grow up from baby ducklings. I would be devastated if I found that someone took one of my favorites and it was euthanized, especially without permission.

 

[BayouPoules]

Quote:
Agreed! I can understand if the ducks had become a problem,.. but they crossed a line and they handled it improperly. They had no right to do something like that if they didn't own them.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

THat's the thing--what is a problem to one person is not necessarily so to another. If they had captured the ducks while on their own property, I would say they have the same rights (whatever they might be) as capturing someone else's cat or dog on your property. Since they were captured on COMMUNTY property, only the community, through its designated management procedures has authority.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Quote:
I do agree, this is the protocol I think they should have followed. But the story doesn't say what, if anything, had previously been done to address their concerns. Nor what the board's position was on the ducks in their community, if they considered them community property or not.

Makes me SO glad I don't live in an HOA community!

I'm also curious to hear what the animal shelter has to say about why they euthanized those ducks. They're very well known in our town and have a reputation for being no-kill. I believe that means that they only will accept adoptable animals, I don't know why they would take in animals they planned to euthanize, I'd think they would have referred the couple to the county Animal Care & Control facility instead. I don't think this couple wanted them euthanized or they would have taken them to ACC instead, or just given them away to any number of people who would have loved to have them on their tables.

 

[desertdarlene]

It didn't specify what kind of ducks were taken, the photos in the video seem to suggest mallards, but I couldn't get a very good look at them. If they were Muscovy, it's very likely that they were required to euthanize them because of the new laws as they are not adoptable under the new regulations. And, they couldn't give them back to the people who took them because of those same laws saying that they can't be released.

Perhaps you can let us know as to what kind of ducks were taken as you live in that town and have more knowledge and exposure about the case or when you find out the answer. I know you mentioned possible breeds in your first post.

I agree, I seriously don't think the couple wanted them euthanized. I think they had an issue with too many ducks and thought that they would take care of the problem by giving them to people who could possibly give the a good home.