It's well and good to say they ought to be processed and eaten, but I live in the area (neighboring county) and can say there is no place to take them to be processed. If you have a slaughter facility in your area that will process small numbers of birds then count yourself lucky because they do not exist in Florida that I am aware of. Most especially not any that are government inspected which is what it would have to be for a government such as the city of Ocala to give away the meat. The fact that these are waterfowl only complicates things.
Not that I would want to eat one myself anyways. No telling what they've eaten living in a city park.
As for giving them away it's not that simple. There are (seemingly contradictory) state and federal regulations concerning Muscovy ducks that the city is now forced to contend with. This is a municipal government and they are not allowed to do things secretly under the table. If we have folks that want the things then go and bag all you want, but the city simply cannot come out and say "come and get them!".
Bottom line is city parks are there for the enjoyment of the city residents. A certain number of ducks, geese, etc are tolerable and even pretty. But being living animals they are going to do what comes natural and that is reproduce themselves. This is made even more of a problem by foolish, well intentioned people who insist on feeding them so that they now have the resources to reproduce wildly. Pretty soon there is manure on the sidewalks, tables, every where that the city then has to pay to clean off and sanitize (pressure washers and Clorox) in addition to the complaints they receive from the city residents about the mess that has been made.
This sort of thing happens periodically every where there is a public body of water with limited predators and abundant food supplies (those foolish, well intentioned people who feed them). The population explodes and something has to be done to reduce it. Whether it's deer in suburban areas, Mute Swans in the Chesapeake Bay area, coons and possums in campgrounds, or Muscovy ducks in city parks it is largely people that create the problems so therefore it is people who will have to solve it.
If you don't want ducks to be euthanized then strongly encourage every one you know to STOP FEEDING THEM. There are not enough natural resources in those parks to support more than a minimal waterfowl population. It is people feeding them that makes it possible.
I can think of several public ponds here in Gainesville that have gone from being pretty and seeing much public use to being nasty and a place to avoid because the local waterfowl population was allowed to over breed to the point it began to look more like a manure lagoon than a landscaped pond in a public park. Eventually the city or whoever has to step in, reduce the population, clean things up to make it usable for people again.
At least until the people who insist on feeding the things have bred up a large enough population to start the cycle all over again.
Not that I would want to eat one myself anyways. No telling what they've eaten living in a city park.
As for giving them away it's not that simple. There are (seemingly contradictory) state and federal regulations concerning Muscovy ducks that the city is now forced to contend with. This is a municipal government and they are not allowed to do things secretly under the table. If we have folks that want the things then go and bag all you want, but the city simply cannot come out and say "come and get them!".
Bottom line is city parks are there for the enjoyment of the city residents. A certain number of ducks, geese, etc are tolerable and even pretty. But being living animals they are going to do what comes natural and that is reproduce themselves. This is made even more of a problem by foolish, well intentioned people who insist on feeding them so that they now have the resources to reproduce wildly. Pretty soon there is manure on the sidewalks, tables, every where that the city then has to pay to clean off and sanitize (pressure washers and Clorox) in addition to the complaints they receive from the city residents about the mess that has been made.
This sort of thing happens periodically every where there is a public body of water with limited predators and abundant food supplies (those foolish, well intentioned people who feed them). The population explodes and something has to be done to reduce it. Whether it's deer in suburban areas, Mute Swans in the Chesapeake Bay area, coons and possums in campgrounds, or Muscovy ducks in city parks it is largely people that create the problems so therefore it is people who will have to solve it.
If you don't want ducks to be euthanized then strongly encourage every one you know to STOP FEEDING THEM. There are not enough natural resources in those parks to support more than a minimal waterfowl population. It is people feeding them that makes it possible.
I can think of several public ponds here in Gainesville that have gone from being pretty and seeing much public use to being nasty and a place to avoid because the local waterfowl population was allowed to over breed to the point it began to look more like a manure lagoon than a landscaped pond in a public park. Eventually the city or whoever has to step in, reduce the population, clean things up to make it usable for people again.
At least until the people who insist on feeding the things have bred up a large enough population to start the cycle all over again.
