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State seizes duck that woman nursed back to health
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10:45 PM PDT on Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Associated Press

AUBURN, Wash. - It didn't matter that Diane Erdmann had nursed the brown-
and yellow-feathered duck back to health after he'd been injured.
Video Clip


Wildlife agents considered Gooey wildlife, so they seized him.

"It's a situation that we run across every year," state Fish and Wildlife
Capt. Bill Hebner said. "People find sick or injured wildlife they believe
to be orphaned and they take it into captivity and make pets out of them.
The agency does not support that concept. We believe wildlife is wildlife
and pets are pets and there's a strong distinction between the two."

The Fish and Wildlife Department is looking into whether Erdmann should be
charged with unlawful possession of wildlife. The Auburn Police Department
is investigating the wildlife officers, one of whom Erdmann says struck her
as he snatched the duck away.

State officials insist the officers were only doing their job.


Nonetheless, they're looking into Erdmann's claims to determine whether the
officers may have been overzealous.

Erdmann said she got Gooey, now 11 weeks old, from a friend after the
day-old duckling had been injured by a crow.

She said he was "not a wild duck" but a domestic mallard.

She got a book on raising ducks, kept him under heat lamps, fed him chicken
food and vitamin supplements, bought him custom-made duck diapers and
brought him to work every day.

"It's a very spoiled little duck," said Ross B. Hansen, owner of Northwest
Territorial Mint.

Last Friday, two state Fish and Wildlife agents showed up at Northwest
Territorial Mint asking for Erdmann, who's a manager at the company.

Kristin Donovan, assistant to the company president, said she heard "a very
loud, very booming, very aggressive-type voice."

"He said, 'Give me the duck.' I heard a pause, then, 'If you don't give me
the duck, I'm going to arrest you."'

When Erdmann refused to hand Gooey over, she said the officers became more
stern. One of them showed her his handcuffs. As she cradled Gooey in her
arms, the other one lunged at her and grabbed the duck, striking Erdmann on
the chest, she said.

Erdmann filed a complaint with Auburn police, who said they would forward
their report to the city prosecutor.

Under certain circumstances, it can be legal to possess wildlife, but it
takes a permit and other requirements have to be met.

A Fish and Wildlife spokesman said Gooey is well and living in a
rehabilitation center.

Erdmann and her colleagues say they're stunned by how ridiculous it all seems.

"There are a million ducks in Washington," Hansen said. "It's not like this
is an endangered duck."



At 02:17 PM 8/18/2005, Cliff Drake wrote:
>Another case of "pet wildlife" the story is pretty biased against the
>state . . .
>State seizes duck that woman nursed back to health
>http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_081705ANBduckKC.84504655.html
>
>
>
>
>==============
>Cliff Drake
>Ballard, Seattle WA
>cliff at cliffdrake.net
>
>
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>Tweeters mailing list
>Tweeters at u.washington.edu
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>