Pet Ducks and RSPCA

[beckyzazou]

I think that the ducks need to go for a walk into your garden at night then they may find thier way to a nicer home

its a lot more difficult than you think to get someone involved, a couple of years ago i had 20 pigeons to handrear after their home was demolished, {i went in and took every nest i could get} all the organizations i asked to help refused as pigeons are classed as vermin, 20 was far too many for 1 person to handrear, but not 1 person would help
i could go on and list lots of cases where RSPCA refuse to help, if you are lucky there might be a privately run rescue centre that will help, but you may have to wait weeks
if they dont give a stuff about their welfare, then your neighbors wont give a stuff if they disappear

[Hilary]

Ok, according to DEFRA, in describing the Animal Welfare Act 2006: this makes owners and keepers responsible for ensuring that the welfare needs of their animals are met.
These include the need:
1. For a suitable environment (place to live)
2. For a suitable diet
3. To exhibit normal behaviour patterns
4. To be housed with, or apart from, other animals (if applicable)
5. To be protected from pain, injury, suffering and disease

The law also increases to 16 the minimum age at which a person can buy an animal and prohibits giving animals as prizes to unaccompanied children under this age.

Anyone who is cruel to an animal, or does not provide for its welfare needs, may be banned from owning animals, fined up to £20,000 and/or sent to prison.

So potentially, if proven there is a casefor an offence under this Act, which could have a big juicy penalty.

Defra also says:
It is envisaged that day-to-day enforcement of animal welfare law will not change significantly. The Act provides for certain specific enforcement powers for the police and inspectors such as the power of entry, inspection and search and the power to seize documents.
The Act (like most law) is a ‘common informers’ act’, and this means that anyone is allowed to bring a prosecution for an offence. Whilst it is envisaged that the RSPCA will continue to investigate offences and bring prosecutions, particularly in relation to companion and domestic animals, RSPCA inspectors will not have formal enforcement powers under the Act. So, for example, where access to premises without the owner’s consent is sought, the RSPCA will have to be accompanied by a local authority or Animal Health inspector or police officer, as was the case in previous law.

Inspectors can be appointed by local authorities on a full-time, part-time or temporary basis. They can exercise the enforcement powers as detailed in the Act (powers of entry and seizure, for example), but the local authority remains responsible for their actions.

So the council Environmental Protection Dept should be the ones to prosecute here, as the RSPCA don't have right of entry, but EPD do.
But, also according to DEFRA:

Whilst there are new powers available to local authority inspectors in the Act in relation to animal welfare, there is no obligation on local authorities to use these powers. The government expects that many of the new powers will help inspectors carry out their existing duties more effectively, with an extra focus on prevention of suffering before it occurs. Inspectors are those persons with responsibility for animal welfare appointed under section 51 of the Act by either a local authority or, in England, the Secretary of State. This includes Animal Health officers.


So, your council Eenvironmental Prot. Dept should be doing the job, but might try to cop out, so you would just have to pester them.
Although you will have to identify yourself to EPD, they can act on your information anonymously & carry out their own investigations.
You may need to give them a shove tho depending on how proactive your council are. The thing to remember is that all calls will be logged (particularly if each time you ring you make sure that it is logged. Then eventually they will have to act because of all the logged calls - just try not to sound too much of a nutter tho.
Also if the EPD dont seem to inclined to act, try speaking to a local councillor - they will pester the ***t out of them just cos they think they will squeeze a few more votes at the next elections

[swad1000]

The RSPCA will only intervene in cases of cruelty, thats what they are there for, they also have to operate with in the legal system. The best you could hope for in this case is even the voluntarily gave them up, which from the sounds of it they are unwilling to do.

[Hilary]

I would still suggest it is your local council EPD that you need to speak to.
They should be acting under the terms of the Animal welfare Act as above, but if they dont, they could also address the problem under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
This states under the following sections:

S79 Statutory nuisances and inspections therefor
(1) Subject to subsections (2) to (6) below, the following matters constitute “statutory nuisances” for the purposes of this Part, that is to say—
(a) any premises in such a state as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance;

(e) any accumulation or deposit which is prejudicial to health or a nuisance;
(f) any animal kept in such a place or manner as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance;

(h) any other matter declared by any enactment to be a statutory nuisance;
and it shall be the duty of every local authority to cause its area to be inspected from time to time to detect any statutory nuisances which ought to be dealt with under section 80 below and, where a complaint of a statutory nuisance is made to it by a person living within its area, to take such steps as are reasonably practicable to investigate the complaint.
s80 Summary proceedings for statutory nuisances
(1) Where a local authority is satisfied that a statutory nuisance exists, or is likely to occur or recur, in the area of the authority, the local authority shall serve a notice (“an abatement notice”) imposing all or any of the following requirements—
(a) requiring the abatement of the nuisance or prohibiting or restricting its occurrence or recurrence;
(b) requiring the execution of such works, and the taking of such other steps, as may be necessary for any of those purposes,
and the notice shall specify the time or times within which the requirements of the notice are to be complied with.

(4) If a person on whom an abatement notice is served, without reasonable excuse, contravenes or fails to comply with any requirement or prohibition imposed by the notice, he shall be guilty of an offence.
(5) Except in a case falling within subsection (6) below, a person who commits an offence under subsection (4) above shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale together with a further fine of an amount equal to one-tenth of that level for each day on which the offence continues after the conviction.
(6) A person who commits an offence under subsection (4) above on industrial, trade or business premises shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £20,000.

So as a Statutory nuisance, they can serve an abatement notice.
If they then ignore this, they can land up with another big fat penalty.
The complaint from yourself would again still be anonymous.

If they get an abatement notice they would more than likely be quite amenable to letting the local farmer take them off their hands, regardless of whether the little dear wants to see duckys occasionally.

[baybay]

hmmm... i would just let them go free. Its definitly not a bad thing to do if the ducks are suffering, if i lived near you they would be let go a long time ago lol

[Hilary]

Unfortunately, although very tempting, sneaking in at night dressed as a ninja, and arranging a Rambo style mass breakout isnt an option - you would probably be the one to get caught & end up in trouble, while the person who should get locked up will sit back all indignant as the wronged party.

If you keep looking over the fence at them without doing anything, it will play on your mind & you'll just get even more angry, so doing nothing isnt really an option.

I'd keep on at the EPD to act on your complaint anonymously, and if possible get a few more neighbours to do the same - multiple complaints will get more attention than a single voice.

[leggy]

Well still no better My hubby seen the childs dad the other day who told him he dident wont the duck but the child wont part with them. She also refuses to look after them or even go and see them I dont get why he lets this go on.

what did the RSPCA say when you phoned them?

or

reception@gawa.org.uk drop these a line see if they can help

[leggy]

They said it would be classed as urgent as the ducks are sat in there own poo with no food or clean water and no proper shelter. They have not been out yet but that could be due to the snow