People call Carol Chrysong “The Duck Lady”.
Carol founded Lucky Duck Rescue and Sanctuary in 1991. To this day, her nonprofit is the only one in California that’s devoted to rescuing abandoned and abused domesticated ducks.
With Lucky Duck Rescue and Sanctuary, Carol’s mission is both reaccommodation of the ducks and re-education of the general public. All too often, she says, misconceptions about tame ducks can lead to tragedy, and to a growing environmental problem.
For example, most people think a full-grown domesticated duck belongs in a pond somewhere. And a number of elementary-school teachers still consider a mother duck and her brood to be great classroom pets. Carol says both these ideas are a recipe for disaster.
Ducks, Carol says, are loyal, smart, funny, messy–and usually not permitted as pets in residential areas. Because they’re considered to be farm animals, anyone taking a duck home must live in an area that ‘s zoned for agriculture.
Currently, Carol is working to find a new habitat for twenty-two displaced tame ducks–including a mother duck and her brood who showed up unexpectedly one day in a planter at Killian Elementary School, in Rowland Heights. She’s facing some major challenges: safe environments are scarce, bureaucratic red tape is involved, and time and money are major issues.
Carol talked about her work, common misconceptions about ducks and her goals for the future.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: I’ve misused the word “tame” here, in reference to the ducks Carol is seeking to release. They are WILD ducks–and as such, have survival skills and are capable of flying. “Tame” ducks are domesticated ones. Domesticated ducks cannot survive in the wild.)
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