Why Remove the Domestic Ducks?
The addition of domestic ducks into native duck habitats causes several major problems to both the introduced animals as well as the existing duck population. In the wild, the male to female duck ratio is usually 1 male to 3-4 females. As most domestic ducks being dumped into native duck areas are male, this ratio can sometimes change to up 10 males to every female. This is a lethal situation for female ducks at breeding time. As competition increases, so does the violence which the male ducks will use to obtain a mate. The males attack the females for breeding, injuring them and drowning them through exhaustion. Domestic ducks will also breed with native ducks, diluting the native ducks gene-pool. The release of a domestic duck into a native duck habitat which is already fully occupied is likely to cause great distress and even death to the introduced animal. Introduced animals will have difficulty finding shelter, may be stressed by aggressive interactions with other ducks or may dis
