FARMINGTON, Utah — A woman in Farmington is concerned about the treatment of wildlife at Farmington Pond, with the harmful impacts of dumping domesticated ducks into the pond.
Lorri Blanc has been feeding ducks and geese here for 6 years, with feed specifically for them. "I get my bucket of grains, and I come up here,” said Blanc.
She doesnt just feed them, but also picks up trash that could hurt them too – from cans and bottles to fishing line and hooks.
"It makes me really sad,” added Blanc. “It’s unnecessary, it shouldn’t have to happen, there shouldn’t be finishing line laying around."
Last week, she saw something that broke her heart.
"He had fishing line around his leg and it was so bad that when the vet took off the fishing line, the skin just came off his leg, and he had to be euthanized,” explained Blanc about a duck they rescued, but had to be put down.
Wasatch Wanderers is a rescue that has helped wildlife at Farmington Pond and across the state.
When they see people dump their animals, that worries them.
"People buy them as little ducklings or geese, and they're cute, and you go to the feed store, impulse buy, they’re a couple dollars, they take them home, they're pretty messy. And by the time they get older, they just abandon them, they think they're going to survive at the ponds but they don’t,” said Kade Tyler, co-founder, Wasatch Wanderers Animal Rescue.
"I love animals and they're here not of their choice, they're here because people had them for a pet and then they dumped them, and abandoned them,” said Blanc. “I’ve been here when there’s new ducks, and you can tell that they're scared, they don’t know what to do, they don’t know where to get food.”
And people leave trash behind that can hurt them. Blanc collects atleast a bag or two worth of stuff laying around when she comes to feed the ducks. “Someone has to,” she said.
"The hooks will get stuck in their necks, their wings, their legs, ultimately it’s not a good life, or death for them,” said Tyler.
Blanc hopes more people see what's happening and can help look after these animals.
"I would like people to think about what they're doing and think about the animals that live here and how to keep them safe and themselves safe,” she added.
