The war against the ducks that plague South Florida neighborhoods
is forcing some residents to threaten to stop paying their taxes as
cities struggle to cope with federal protection laws.
Rescuing
ducks from pools and drains and cleaning up mounds of duck poop from
driveways has become a way of life in Oakland Park's Coral Heights
neighborhood.
Residents say the Muscovy duck population seems to
be soaring, with gangs of them roaming the streets near a large lake.
Dozens of ducks take over porches and yards and cause traffic to stop as
they cross the streets. Some residents fear parasites that will make
their pets sick, while others are afraid of being attacked by the
often-aggressive feathered fowl.
A few weeks ago, Peter Cramer
found himself jumping into his swimming pool to rescue three baby
ducklings who were trapped, all while Mama Duck hissed threateningly.
"The
mother duckling was trying to attack me for saving her stupid little
ducks," Cramer recalled this week. "As much as I hate them, I don't want
to see them get hurt. I just want them out of my yard."
At the
center of a local government's inability to cope with the feral ducks is
a federal rule that went into effect in 2010. The regulation placed the
Muscovy ducks on a list of federally protected birds. The rule is being
cited by many local governments around the state, including Oakland
Park, as the reason their hands are tied.
The ducks are considered
non-natives to Florida and invasive, so simply picking up the ducks and
moving them somewhere else into the wild is prohibited. Landowners or
local governments, however, can trap and destroy them, but they must do
it in a "humane" fashion and must follow local anti-cruelty laws.
Oakland
Park Mayor Anne E. Sallee said she recently received a complaint from
the neighbors threatening to band together and stop paying their taxes
unless the ducks are removed.
"The city has looked at it, but
unfortunately there's not a lot we can do," Sallee said. "It's like the
problem with iguanas and critters. You just have to learn to live with
it."
A petition is now in the works, Cramer said.
"If they can't handle a simple problem, then why are we paying taxes?" Cramer asked.
Neighbor
Vince Belcastro said he tried hiring a trapper to get rid of the ducks
that constantly jump into his pool. The trapper quoted him $100 per
duck.
"I would try to get rid of them myself, but I don't want to touch them," Belcastro said. "They're crazy and ugly."
Dr.
George Allen, an official with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who
wrote the regulations, said he's received numerous calls from other
neighborhoods across the country experiencing the same issue. He is
working on several changes to the regulations.
"We're trying to come up with a reasonable solution in the middle that everyone can live with," Allen said.
A
timeline for the rule amendments is not set. But the changes may
include revisiting the relocation rules. In meantime, Allen said local
governments can remove the animals but must keep them somewhere where
they can't escape into the wild.
The other option is to pick them up and destroy them.
Eunice
Sivertsen, who runs a duck rescue facility in Margate called Duck
Haven, said since the 2010 regulations, she's seen an increase in
instances in which residents have tried to dispose of the duck nuisance
themselves.
"I've got ducks in here with arrows through them, or
they are poisoned, or they run their cars over them on purpose,"
Sivertsen said. "All sorts of really sad and unimaginable things."
Sivertsen's
group now offers to remove the ducks and send them to private owners in
the Ocala area. The group charges $40 per duck.
Sherry Schlueter,
a former Broward Sheriff's Office deputy and now the executive director
for the South Florida Wildlife Center, said her agency has created a
pilot program to control the Muscovy duck populations. That includes the
advocacy of "addle" or shaking eggs, and adding contraceptives to the
duck feed.
"After 37 years in law enforcement, I can tell you that
most of the citizens do not have the skills to humanely kill them,"
Schlueter said. "You can shoot them in the head, but then there are laws
against discharging a firearm."
John Fretwell, who has lived in
the Coral Heights neighborhood since 1970, said he is amused by his
neighbors' war with the ducks. A self-proclaimed animal-lover, Fretwell
said he provides water for the birds, much to many of his neighbors'
chagrin. He said he stopped feeding the ducks after the city issued him a
warning letter.
"It's nice to live among the wildlife," Fretwell
said. "If you don't want to be near them, then don't move next to a
lake. They've been here longer than all of us."
ijrodriguez@tribune.com; 954-356-4605 or @GeoRodriguez on Twitter
Dealing with ducks
You can:
Humanely kill them. But you must abide by firearm and animal cruelty laws.
Shake the eggs in a nest.
Add contraceptives to duck feed.
Pay a trapper to remove the ducks.
Federally
licensed migratory bird rehabilitators may continue to care for sick,
injured, or orphaned ducks as long as they do not release them to the
wild.
You can't:
Release the ducks into the wild in another location, including to the urban wilds of local ponds and parks.
Own duck or transfer ownership to others except in the use of food production.
You shouldn't:
Feed the ducks.