Cape Town - A Duck Pond Village resident in Strand has expressed her sadness following the removal of 20 white pekin ducks from the residential complex.
The ducks were removed on April 10 following complaints by disgruntled residents, said long-term resident Marlene Mostert.
She said issues with the ducks started a few years ago when an elderly resident complained that he wanted them removed.
“There was a foreign man who lived with his wife who said from day one that he would remove the ducks.
“He hated the ducks with a passion as he always complained about them,” she said.
Mostert said the man’s obsession with the ducks influenced others to call for them to be removed.
“Every batch of new trustees that comes in imagines that the duck pond belongs to them and makes new rules,” she said.
“We had 48 ducks, then they said 30, then said 15.
“There are four canals and a dam. “People bought homes there for the ducks. We see the 12 and then we don’t see them because they are traumatised.”
Duck Pond Village trustee Derek Huebsch said they would not be commenting on the issue.
“Unfortunately, the trustee group through the chairperson have decided on not commenting,” Huebsch said.
Mostert said there was a misunderstanding about the kind of ducks that were in the hamlet, because they were labelled as disease-carrying mallard ducks.
It is not clear where the ducks were taken to.
The Cape of Good Hope SPCA was present on the day the ducks were removed.
It said it only monitored the situation.
SPCA spokesperson, Belinda Abraham said: “The SPCA is on-site to monitor the capturing only to ensure that this is done humanely and in compliance with the Animals Protection Act.”
Mostert added that the ducks were part of the estate’s history.
“We are without our white duck. The logo is a duck, we will give anything to get our animals back and now we must give the others away,” she said.
A Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment spokesperson, Peter Mbelengwa, said that legislation provided for the control and eradication of listed alien and invasive species.
Cape Argus