Still, don't you think the ducks would have been better cared for, and been less of nuisance, if they at least had pens in which they could spend the night, and a place & time when they would be fed properly with something like layer pellets? It seems the HOA, like many inexperienced poultry keepers, didn't understand the full extent of their responsibility in keeping ducks. You shouldn't just let them loose to roam once they become adults, they still need proper feed and secure housing. My ducks are kept in their houses each night, I never hear them quacking after dark when they are put away.
But there were many other better options for this couple to choose from. It could be that the Aymonds were innocently following the advice given to them from the ACC officer, or they could have had malicious intent. Here's some pertinent details from the fourth link that I listed:
" The Aymonds were once enthusiastic about the ducks in their community. When Robert Aymond was a member of the homeowners association board, he voted for buying ducks, and one was even named "Bob" in his honor. But over time, the couple grew sour on the ducks, especially after the purchase of a new batch, and the Aymonds started to complain to the board about the droppings, damage to their backyard orchids, and the noises the birds were making.
In December 2008, they wrote a letter to the rest of their community, threatening a lawsuit over the ducks."In this suit, we will be seeking damages and attorneys' fees and costs," the letter said. "You as a group will be spending money to defend the suit, and if we win, you will be paying for our attorneys' fees and costs and damages for the destroyed plants."
Instead, a legal mediator was brought in, and by the next month, a settlement agreement was drawn up: The property owners association would pay the Aymonds $1,500 for any damage to their landscaping caused by the ducks, and the association would pay for the removal of five ducks of the couple's choosing. In exchange, the Aymonds would have to agree to stop complaining about the rest of the ducks.
The deal fell through.
The Aymonds then complained to Palm Beach County Commissioner Karen Marcus, who referred them to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control. In February 2009, Capt. Dave Walesky, the operations manager for the county's animal control, said the ducks weren't a matter for his office.
"However, I do not know of anything that prevents a landowner from humanely removing nuisance animals from their own property," Walesky wrote. "I would suggest that they capture these nuisance animals, while on their property, and turn them into an animal shelter that accepts stray exotic animals."
Two months later, on April 21, 2009, the Aymonds hired two off-duty Palm Beach County sheriff's deputies to keep the neighbors away as they paid a trapper to remove the ducks corralled in their screened patio enclosure and drive them, with a deputy escort, to the Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League for immediate euthanization.
Why would a "no kill" shelter kill animals on demand? A big money donation from the Aymonds was the motive, according to a subsequent sheriff's office investigation."
I believe there is a new director of this animal shelter now, and he's saying that it's common for people to make a donation when surrendering animals to them. But it seems an easy link to connect the Aymonds' donation with the quick euthanization of these ducks.
