The rescue of three surviving "decoy caller" ducks

Five abused ducks used to kill others

Last September, a whistle-blower reported the presence of ducks in a difficult situation in Burgundy-Franche-Comté. Our investigator was dispatched immediately, discovering this miserable place of life for these wild birds.

In a rudimentary enclosure four poor ducks were found, the corpse of a fifth was lying there, and a few pieces of bread in the mud. They had been torn from their life of freedom, caught probably by traps used for nutria, the hunter had intended them to be "decoys callers". In short, the life of these ducks would have been to call to their own kind, for the sole purpose of being killed. The most upsetting: a male duck, sat looking over the boards of its confine towards the pond where free ducks swim in the distance.

Our attempt to go through the justice system to save them

We immediately filed a complaint. As always, these cases take several months to go through. As part of the process, the gendarme went to the site and our investigator was interviewed. And ... the complaint has been dismissed. The only thing raised by our investigation was that the ducks were not legally ringed. We know how difficult hunting is on wildlife, especially in France, where almost anything is allowed. Despite the ranking of this complaint, we still managed to get the gendarmes to save these ducks.

The rescue of Marguerite, Lilas, and Pivoine

When we arrived at the spot-on Saturday January 26^th2019, the enclosure was fully flooded. The poor birds had no access to land. They can but swim only in icy water.

There are only three now, a small female died because of the terrible conditions ... We then immediately took them to the Wildlife Conservation Centre "Volée de Piafs", where from our support they were examined and benefited from all the necessary attention. They are very thin and need to regain their strength.

Most of the time, hunters trim the wings of ducks used as decoy callers. Fortunately, this is not the case with Marguerite, Lilas, and Pivoine, so we will have the opportunity to release them in an area free of hunting in a short time! And for these three there is only freedom, real freedom.  

For a radical reform of the hunt, please sign our petition!