A Lethbridge woman says she won’t give up her two ducks, even after receiving a ticket from Community Animal Services.
Laurie VanDyk and her husband moved into Lethbridge earlier this year for retirement, after years of living in Lethbridge County. When they moved into the city, they brought their two Rouen ducks. She says before moving here, she asked a Lethbridge Police Service officer if she was allowed to bring them and was told yes. However, after a complaint was made to Community Animal Services, she learned that it was not the case.
“When Animal Control came, they told me that they don’t care what the police do as they have nothing to do with the police,” she says.
VanDyk was issued a $300 ticket for the two ducks, which she is fighting because she asked if she was allowed to have them. Along with fighting the ticket, she also plans to fight to keep the two domesticated birds.
“They’re bred for meat in France. You know, really, they shouldn’t even be here because we don’t have the conditions here to keep them outside like they do in France,” Vandyk says. “So for somebody to say that they’ll take them and give them a home, I have no guarantee that they won’t eat them because they’re a meat duck, that’s what they’re bred for.”
She adds she is ready to care for the two flightless birds throughout the winter with a pen set up in her insulated garage, which has a heat lamp and a water container that has a decent depth for them to bathe in.
“We got food bowls and we take them out fresh stuff five or six times a day. It’s the same thing as living in the country. It’s no different. They have to still be inside.”
VanDyk and her husband got the ducks from a neighbour when they lived in the county, and the pair came with a group of chickens that had been hatched in a class at a local school. When they were moving, they rehomed the chickens, but she brought the pair she calls ‘her boys’ with her.
“They’re my babies, you know, this is all I have. My husband and I come out in the morning, we have coffee, and they have tomatoes, and I bring them out to a platter in the afternoon, they get a different variety. They love grapes. I have a block of fish for them for the pool.”
Director of Services and Enforcement for Community Animal Services, Skylar Plourde, says in the City of Lethbridge’s Animal Care and Control bylaw, the keeping of poultry, wildlife, or livestock in city limits is not allowed, and ducks fall under the definition of poultry. He says different issues arise when it comes to the keeping of animals that fall into these categories in the city.
“There’s the health of the community, the nuisance issues that could come up for neighbours when you’re in these highly populated areas. There are health issues for the animals,” he says. “There’s a reason why these types of animals live on a farm. They require different care than traditional household pets. So, it’s not really common practice to allow these types of animals in urban areas.”
Plourde says he encourages anyone who is planning on moving to a new municipality and planning on bringing animals with them to contact the municipality directly to find out what the community’s bylaw is.
“The official bylaws will always be posted to the municipality’s website. But if you need some assistance interpreting that and understanding what the actual rules are, contact that municipality directly.”
“Typically, like in Lethbridge, if you had questions about the keeping of animals and call 311, you would be connected to our department, which would give you the answer straight out of the website.”
According to VanDyk, since she has shared her ducks’ story on social media, she has received support to keep them from not just neighbours but others around the city. With many driving to where she lives on the city’s northside to see the pair playing outside.
She also has started an online petition that, as of Wednesday, November 12th, has 234 signatures and also has physical petitions set up around her yard. She also says she has formally invited City of Lethbridge Mayor Blaine Hyggen to come and meet the two birds.
VanDyk goes to court on November 25th.
