Farm Sanctuary Rescues Ducklings off the Streets of Brooklyn

What is it with farm animals wandering around New York City lately? Just weeks after Evan the goat was found in the Bronx, three teenage ducklings were discovered in Boro Park, Brooklyn. Rina Deych, a registered nurse and member of the New York Bird Club, rescued the birds, took them home, and called the Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, NY, where they are now recovering from their ordeal.

Deych tells Paw Nation that she and her son were driving to the supermarket on a rainy Saturday morning. "As we approached the intersection, we saw a crowd of people in the middle of the street," she writes to Paw Nation. "As we got closer, we noticed [the ducks on the ground and] a crowd consisting of children of all ages (from toddler to twenty) stomping and flailing their arms as if they were trying to hit the ducks, and yelling. The ducks were huddled together and, visibly petrified. I screamed at the kids, 'What are you doing?' Then I grabbed the ducks and placed them one by one in the car."

Luckily for the ducks, Deych is a veteran animal rescuer, and always has cat food in her car. "I fed the ducks the cat food," Deych said. "I could tell they were young because, while their bodies were large, they were chirping like babies! I knew they had most likely fallen off a slaughterhouse truck since the feathers on their backs had rubbed off and left raw wounds. This usually happens when they are packed tightly in crates." There were three ducks in total, all male Moulards, a breed commonly used in the notoriously cruel production of foie gras.


Once Deych got the ducks home, she started making calls to rescuers and sanctuaries, while giving the ducks "a huge platter of veggies, fruits, oats, and corn, and huge pots of water to drink and bathe in." She had been active with Farm Sanctuary in the '80s, and when she called them, they immediately sent a volunteer to take the ducks upstate to the farm in Watkins Glen.

According to Susie Coston, Farm Sanctuary's national shelter director, "The fact that a group of children responded to injured and frightened animals with taunts and stomps is indicative of a dire need for humane education in the classroom and at home. We urge teachers and parents to teach their children compassion for all living beings and how to be a hero to animals in need."

In the meantime, the lucky ducks, who have been named Mishka, Fedor, and Alexi, will join Evan the goat and over 200 other farm animals living the good life at Farm Sanctuary.

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Tags: duck rescue, DuckRescue, ducks, foie gras, FoieGras, rescue