Above: A picture of the injured duck taken by the Kochers. Amazingly, this duck was able to fly away with the arrow in it.By Melissa Donchi
THEsight of a duck speared with an arrow has horrified animal welfare workers.
Mim and Fredy Kocher from Healesville were startled to find the impaled duck walking around their property last week with a 75-centimetre arrow running through its body.
“We saw a poor wood duck in our driveway with a large arrow going right through it, the arrow’s head coming out the other side,” Mr Kocher said.
“The arrow was about 75 centimetres long, with yellow fins at the end and a green tip.”
The Kochers immediately called local wildlife operators and eventually staff from Healesville Sanctuary’s Animal Wildlife Hospital were dispatched to catch the duck.
But amazingly, the duck was able to evade the officers and fly away.
“The duck could still totter along slowly,” Mr Kocher said.
“Unfortunately they couldn’t catch the duck as she could still fly a little and kept avoiding them.”
Healesville Sanctuary’s Peter Holts was one of the attending veterinarians and said it was surprising that the duck was still able to walk and fly.
“Obviously the arrow didn’t hit anything vital but my concern now is that how long it will survive in the wild,” Dr Holts said.
“It’s fair to assume it wasn’t a sterile arrow so the duck could easily get an infection.”
Dr Holts said the arrow would considerably slow the duck down making it more susceptible to predators.
“It could fly but not as well which means something like a falcon could quite easily nail it,” Dr Holts said.
While the veterinarians at Healesville Sanctuary see a range of different injuries, they say it is rare to find a speared animal.
“We see animals who have been hit by bullets or pellets but not really arrows,” Dr Holts said. “It’s quite unusual.”
It’s unlikely that the duck would have been shot by a professional hunter with this year’s duck season cancelled.
The 2007 Victorian Duck Hunting season was cancelled by the Bracks Government last year after an analysis of environmental conditions revealed a significant decline in habitat.
Former Environment Minister John Thwaites said the amount of habitat was the lowest level recorded in at least the past 24 years.
“Overall, environmental conditions for waterfowl have declined and are some of the most severe we have experienced in recent times,” Mr Thwaites said.
“The cancellation of the 2007 season will help ensure the long-term conservation of game species and provide an opportunity for the population to recover more quickly when conditions improve.”
Department of Sustainability and Environment spokeswoman Gill Cooper said the arrow was a sports arrow rather than a hunting arrow.
But it is still difficult to assume whether the duck was hit on purpose with Dr Holts conceding that he could not rule out an accident.
“The person would have had to be a pretty good shot to hit a duck with an arrow,” Dr Holts said.
“But these freak accidents do happen occasionally.”
The Kochers believe that it would have been kids fooling around with arrows.
“It’s a foolish thing to do if that is the case,” Mr Kocher said.
“I don’t know where the duck is now but life will be very difficult for her.”
