Chewing the fat over the ducks

FAT ducks have been rummaging through bin bags and waddling around homes in Ely in search of food. The ducks have moved from the riverside and made their way into the city to top up on tasty scraps of foods. Now residents, who have been treating the birds

FAT ducks have been rummaging through bin bags and waddling around homes in Ely in search of food.

The ducks have moved from the riverside and made their way into the city to top up on tasty scraps of foods.

Now residents, who have been treating the birds to white bread and leftover food, are in a flap because the birds are hunting round dustbins.

In a bid to clip the birds' wings, council officers have issued advice on how to help the obese and unhealthy duck population which has been growing dramatically.

East Cambridgeshire's head of environmental services and housing, said: "Ducks are drawn to areas where people feed

them.

"As natural scavengers they are easily encouraged away from the river and ponds in search of food and they are often seen hunting around bins for scraps. By moving away from their traditional habitat, they become a danger to traffic and become susceptible to disease while the condition of their feathers deteriorates.

"The main type of food currently used to feed ducks is white bread and food scraps. This is not a healthy diet for them and the substantial amount of food left out is making the population obese and unhealthy, in addition to encouraging rodents.

"We are not trying to be killjoys and stop anyone feeding the ducks but we would ask people to be responsible if not for their sake but in fairness to others."

# AN Ely Standard web poll revealed that more than 50 per cent of our visitors think the Muscovy duck population is out of control.

It seems the ducks are a contentious issue, as 51.85 per cent of people believed the Muscovy population had got out of hand, while 48.15 per cent felt their numbers were acceptable.

Visit our website at www.ely-standard.co.uk for the latest poll.