We went out and about to gauge public opinion. Christopher Nolan, 84, from Ely. I find the ducks to be okay. They can be a bit messy, but they don t really bother me too much. I used to feed them, but I ve stopped doing that now. Pauline Kingsland, 70

We went out and about to gauge public opinion.

Christopher Nolan, 84, from Ely.

"I find the ducks to be okay. They can be a bit messy, but they don't really bother me too much. I used to feed them, but I've stopped doing that now."

Pauline Kingsland, 70, from Ely.

"I don't mind the ducks at all. They are a part of being here. They do come up to the house and mess on the doorstep occasionally, but you have to accept that sort of thing if you choose to live here. Some people make a lot of fuss about nothing.

"It's fun to see the ducks crossing the road together, and they are actually a good traffic-calming measure.

"But, no matter how many notices there are by the river, people will still feed them the wrong foods."

Jo Steward, 41, from Ely.

"We really like the ducks and they don't cause us any problems. We go and sit by the river and feed them grain, and find them to be nice and friendly. It's a bit annoying to see that people keep feeding them big chunks of white bread, which is really bad for them, and I often see people doing it when standing right next to a sign telling them not to."

Martin Ward, 56, from Elm, near Wisbech.

"The ducks are pretty ugly things and can make a lot of mess, but they don't bother me when I'm fishing and I actually quite like them.

"The geese are the problem, they can be really aggressive and quite scary for young children."

Leigh Shaw, 25, from South Africa.

"I love the ducks and get really upset when I read about the district council smearing the eggs. They have just as much right to be here as we do.

"I've lived in Ely for two years now, and find that the ducks and the riverside are a major part of the beauty of the place.

"I've just had my visa renewed and I love living here.

"I know that a lot of tourists come here to hang out by the river and see the ducks, so they are important for the economy of the area."

Doug Griffin, 82, from Ely.

"I think they the ducks are a real nuisance, and there's far too many of them. The district council has to do something, before it gets out of hand. They can be nice for the children, but there's just so many of them now and they get everywhere in the city, and rip through the rubbish bags and make such a mess.

# 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.