Ducknabbit! Miami Springs Residents Cry Fowl Over Duck-Snatching

Muscovy ducks have reason to waddle nervously about Miami Springs, wondering who next among them will be snatched.

"You put that fucking duck down," shouted one Miami Springs resident after she spotted a man on a busy street grab a duck by the neck, shove it onto a trailer, and split. "What are you doing?"

A motorist called 911 while tailing the supposed duck bandit, according to a police report obtained by New Times. Police arrived about seven minutes later, and the subject was "GOA" (gone on arrival). Witness statements indicated the duck wrangler and his peer, who appeared to have professional animal-catching equipment in their vehicle, were going around the city scooping up fowl.

"Miami Springs ducks are in danger," PETA spokesperson Nicole Meyer tells New Times after the early October incident. "PETA urges anyone with relevant information to come forward before another duck goes missing."

Miami Springs passed a bird sanctuary ordinance in 1967 that makes it illegal to trap or kill birds, declaring "all territory embraced within the corporate limits of the city" to be a bird sanctuary. Violations of the ordinance "shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $500 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 60 days, or by both in the discretion of the judge," according to the city code.

Though residents who witnessed the recent incident were irate and convinced of wrongdoing, Miami Springs police have reportedly stated after previous duck-nabbing incidents that the city has a permit process for those who want to legally remove ducks. The police report does not indicate charges are forthcoming.

Meanwhile, it's unclear whether the bird ordinance has been enforced in recent years. A public records request by New Times seeking the list of people who have been fined under the ordinance since 1999 is under review by the city.

"Fortunately, our ducks enjoy protected status and are not a staple of our dinner tables," Miami Springs maintains on its website.

While not a staple, they might occasionally be on the menu.

In 2019, the Miami Herald reported that a man was seen driving around Miami Springs late at night, running down ducks, then tossing them in the back of a Toyota Tacoma before speeding away with the lights off. Police caught up with the man and told him he needed a permit from the city to capture the birds, according to a witness, before letting him go.

 "He told the cops he was eating them," the witness claimed.

The city says its population of Muscovies, familiar ducks with black-and-white feathers and distinctive red wattles around their beaks, are among the birds protected by its sanctuary ordinance. Muscovies are prolific in ponds around urban areas in Florida. While some residents appreciate the ducks for their propensity to eat insects and the character they add to a community, others deem them and their copious droppings a nuisance.

Animal rights activists remain frustrated as city, state, and federal laws point in different directions on Muscovy regulation while the birds remain sitting ducks.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Muscovies are generally protected under federal law known as the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. However, federal regulators have issued an order allowing control of Muscovy ducks and their nests in areas outside their natural range in three Texas counties.

"Federal regulations allow control of Muscovy ducks by landowners, wildlife management agencies, and tenants, agents, or employees without federal or state permits," FWC spokesperson Arielle Callender tells New Times. "Muscovy ducks can be taken by use of a firearm on private property during daylight hours with landowner permission."

"The video on its own does not provide evidence of a violation," Callender says.

Miami Springs animal rights advocate Laney Silver tells New Times the city's duck population has dwindled and that she's alarmed by the decrease.

"There isn't a single duck by the railroad tracks," Silver says. "People are the problem. Animals never are."

Silver notes that the number of ducks around the home of a resident affectionately known as the "duck lady," who has a sign that reads "duck crossing" on an oak tree near her residence, has markedly dropped off.

In Miami Springs, ducks and other wildlife that once had safe havens near canals and water bodies have had their habitats disturbed over the last decade by way of construction and heavy development. Miami Springs recently lost its Tree City USA designation, a point of community pride for about 25 years. (Local community blog MiamiSprings.com reported that the city administration had mistakenly failed to submit a renewal request for the designation.)

And ducks that venture into local neighborhoods risk getting their beaks slapped.

Case in point: A former Miami Springs councilwoman said she had to go Chuck Norris on a duck after it "lost its mind" and goosed her during mating season while she pushed her granddaughter in a stroller.

"I fought the duck off, but not before I was bitten by it," she told the Herald.

Carcasses of Muscovies were found strewn along Miami Springs' roads in 2018 and 2020, leading to rumors that a serial duck killer was on the loose — certainly not the type of activity expected in a small town, population 14,000, that calls itself "Mayberry," has numerous churches, and starts city council meetings with a prayer.

In response to New Times' inquiry about the latest duck-nabbing, Miami Springs police said they are researching the incident and the laws that govern it but offered no further comment.

PETA says it wants the book thrown at anyone who illegally captures birds.

"Let this case be a lesson to live and let live, as it doesn't take much to show a little compassion and tolerance for the wild animals who are simply trying to eke out an existence in a human-dominated world," PETA says.