SIX fully grown ducks dumped in a cardboard box near the gates of a Tavistock tip are now recovering at an animal rescue centre, writes Alison Stephenson.
Wingletang Animal Sanctuary is caring for the abandoned creatures who were discovered on Sunday at Crowndale recycling centre by Bere Alston resident Jason Perryman.
Jason?s curiosity got the better of him when he saw a large cardboard box on the grass verge: ?There was no noise coming from it so when I opened it and saw these ducks flapping around it was a bit of a surprise,? he said.
?I took them home because we have a livery yard and I thought they would be comfortable in a hay bed in one of the stables.?
The next morning Jason went to Westmoor Vets in Tavistock where the ducks were checked over and then transferred to Wingletang.
?I am just happy I found them because who knows how long they would have been there,? said animal lover Jason, who originates from London. ?Back home in London I can imagine this sort of thing happening, but not around here.?
Manager of Wringletang Alan Ging said the animals were ?stressed out? but were not in a bad condition.
?Cats and dogs are usually the animals that are abandoned, ducks are a new one on me,? said Mr Ging. ?If someone could not care for them any longer we would have been quite happy to take them ? that is what we are here for.
?It could be that the previous owner had ended up with two many drakes and wanted rid of them.?
With the company of other ducks, chickens, goats, sheep, cats and dogs, the new additions will feel quite at home but Mr Ging is willing to part with the animals if they are offered a good home.
Wingletang animal sanctuary, near Tavistock, is run by the Margaret Green Foundation Trust and has been rescuing and rehoming animals for over ten years.