Click here to see a copy of the League ad placed in the November 2003
issue of 'Bird Watching'
( JPG File 156Kb )

http://www.league.uk.com/birds/ruddy_duck.jpg

The current situation

The ruddy duck was introduced to the UK in the 1930s, from the US,
where there is a large ruddy duck population. Initially they were
present in the UK only in captive wildfowl collections, but some birds
escaped into the wild & began breeding in 1952. The white-headed duck
is native to Spain and parts of Asia, and is currently endangered and
present, particularly in Spain, only in very small numbers. Ruddy
ducks, primarily from the UK (which has the largest population in
Europe) are reported to fly to Spain for the winter and interbreed
with white-headed ducks. This is alleged to pose a risk to the
survival of the pure white-headed duck.

As a result of Europe-wide concern over the fate of the white-headed
duck, DEFRA, has decided to attempt to eradicate the ruddy duck in the
UK. As yet, only a trial cull has taken place. DEFRA minister Eliot
Morley has stated that they wish to undertake further research into
methods of population control before going ahead with the proposal of
culling by shooting. However, many ducks have already been shot during
the trial cull, including two female tufted ducks and one juvenile
long-tailed duck shot in error, and seven young mallard chicks caught
in netting during trap testing.

The League's view

The League Against Cruel Sports believes that the current plan amounts
to management by slaughter and is fundamentally unacceptable. This is
a problem generated by humans - the ruddy duck was introduced to
Europe for our own amusement, and the low numbers of the white-headed
duck have been caused by the destruction of breeding habitat and by
indiscriminate hunting and shooting. Now it is argued that we should
intervene yet again, despite the poor record of previous
interventions, and slaughter thousands of birds.

This ready resort to management by killing has also been seen in other
situations, such as that of the Saltdean badgers. In the case of the
ruddy duck, a study in 1993/4 showed that oiling eggs (dipping them in
paraffin) is the most humane and effective (100%) method of
controlling ruddy duck numbers - the eventual report on the study
appears to recommend shooting primarily on the grounds of cost rather
than humaneness or effectiveness. There seems to be no idea that
values other than the financial should be prioritised, or that killing
should be a last available resort. Cost is permitted to dictate action
over all other considerations.

The League is also concerned that this cull has involved repositioning
the ruddy duck as a target species so that it has become available to
'sport' shooters, now that a a general licence to shoot ruddy ducks
has been issued by DEFRA. There is an obvious animal welfare impact
connected with removing the ruddy duck from the protected list so that
any amateur with a shotgun is free to blast away at it. Even if the
cull is undertaken only by experts, there is known difficulty involved
in shooting ruddy ducks, as they tend to dive (this also makes the
undertaking more expensive). This will lead to birds not being killed
cleanly, and thus suffering. As mentioned above, during the trial
cull, which was undertaken by experts, several non-target birds were
killed. How many more will be killed by amateur shooters, unskilled
both in correctly identifying their target and in killing it cleanly
and humanely?

More fundamentally, humans are continually reshaping the environment.
It is ridiculous and wrong, therefore, to raise the importance of
genetic purity in animals and plants above all other considerations.
Whilst native species should be encouraged - apart from anything else,
they tend to contribute more to the local environment as a whole -
this should not be seen as an excuse to exterminate non-native
species. It is also important to remember that interbreeding is a
normal part of nature, and as such it may be entirely inappropriate
for us to interfere. The ducks are interbreeding in order to survive
the attentions of humans who have massacred the white-headed duck and
destroyed its breeding territory. Now humans are attempting to prevent
this by massacring another species.

What you can do

1. Demand that the RSPB stops supporting the eradication of the ruddy
duck. You can contact them via their website (the "make a comment"
link at the bottom of the page).
http://www.rspb.org.uk/policy/species/rspb_position.asp


2. Ask your MP to sign Early Day Motion 823, put down by League
Vice-President Tony Banks MP to protest against the proposed cull
(full text available from the Parliamentary website).
http://edm.ais.co.uk/weblink/html/motion.html/ref=823

3. Join the League to support our campaigning work
http://www.league.uk.com/support_us/..._donations.htm

4. Make a donation to the costs of our campaigning

http://www.league.uk.com/support_us/..._donations.htm




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