Ducks 'stolen from commons and cooked'

12 April 2012

A wildlife charity says people are stealing ducks from commons in order to cook them at home.

According to the London Wildcare Trust, waterfowl on Wandsworth's commons have decreased in the last five years because of the poaching.

Ted Burden, head of the trust, said: "People are taking them for their own table, or to sell on. They're not taking them to make pets out of them. They're ending up in the cooking pot."

But Peter White, bird recorder for Wandsworth and Tooting Common, said natural predators were more likely to cause population changes.

He said: "They can be taken by pike and large carp, herons or foxes."

The Parks Police said there was no concrete evidence of duck stealing. John Bannerman, chief officer, said: the trust "may be getting reports that we are not getting".

Waterfowl theft is punishable by a fine of up to £5,000.

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