Just a week after Animal Services officials in Riverside County discovered 480 ducklings living in crowded, outdoor cages, all of the ducklings have been adopted in what officials are describing as a massive “teamwork and coordination” effort.
The Riverside County Animal Services Department found the ducks Tuesday after investigating overcrowding conditions at a property in unincorporated Riverside County, according to the agency. The birds were taken to the San Jacinto Valley Animal Camp, where officials immediately called on the public and rescue organizations to help house them starting Wednesday.
according to a social media updates From the San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus, all 480 ducklings have been rescued or adopted, marking one of the largest single intake and placement efforts for the department in more than a decade.
“This large-scale operation required extensive teamwork and coordination across our department,” Riverside County officials said in a social media update.
Animal services officials were not available to say who had adopted the animals and whether they were adopted as pets or food. But Daniel Markichevich told KABC that he and his fiancee Savannah Burgard visited the San Jacinto shelter on Wednesday and planned to adopt 20 ducks for their San Jacinto property.
“We have a 3.5-acre farm, so they’ll go right out into the field and enjoy themselves, and we’ll get out there and watch them, eat their eggs and have a full life for them,” said Markiewicz, who recently completed construction of a pond in his backyard.
An animal sanctuary in Vacaville, dubbed Funky Chicken RescueAccording to a social media post, eight ducks were taken.
Officials said the original owner of the ducks had intended to create a sanctuary for the animals, but animal control officials, citing concerns about improper husbandry and the number of birds being kept, ultimately determined that the circumstances required intervention.
According to the county, before the ducks were taken, the Animal Services Agency coordinated with the California Department of Food and Agriculture to test a sample of the ducks for zoonotic diseases. According to officials, all results came back negative but initial assessment indicated that the birds did not receive adequate care.
“Overcrowding can contribute to stress and decreased immune function,” Itzel Vizcarra, chief veterinarian for the county Animal Services Agency, said in a statement. “Inadequate nutrition, particularly vitamin A deficiency, can deteriorate the lining of the digestive tract, leading to inflammation and secondary disease in birds.”
According to the San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus, the rapid placement effort was supported in part by community donations, including more than 70 bags of waterfowl feed provided by a local business.
While the ducks now have new homes, officials said an investigation into overcrowding conditions at the original property is ongoing.
