Foul play on duck?

Press, 28 January 1988, Page 3

Foul play on duck?

A young female mallard duck may have been the victim of foul play, says the man who found it and is nursing it back to health. Mr Roy Bennett and his family were feeding the ducks on the Avon River near Avonside Drive and Fitzgerald Avenue recently when they found the injured bird. The bird had about 500 cm of fishing line stretching from its mouth where a hook had lodged. Mr Bennett believed it was likely to have been a deliberate attempt to hurt the bird.

Mr Bennett said the bird was now well after a visit to the veterinarian and he expected to be able to release it soon. It is being looked after at his home by his sister-in-law, Miss Geraldine Roberts, of Waimate. According to the S.P.C.A. the summer months were a busy time and the society handled many injured birds. A society spokeswoman, Ms Barbara Ash, advised people who discover injured birds to call the Ferry Road Animal Hospital. “We have been taking the injured birds. We look after them and then

put them out to foster homes or to the Conservation Department,” she said. “The hospital is taking them in more as a receving depot.” She believed many young birds were being injured in strong winds but there had been few reports of people deliberately injuring birds. However, there would “always be a few hooligans about,” she said. She said that most people would not know how to care for injured birds properly and advised them to contact the animal hospital if they found one.