Dozens of dumped ducks depart

In July, according to Secaucus Police Detective Sgt. Michael Torres, the town’s Police Department received calls about someone leaving ducks near Mill Creek Mall and Harmon Cove condominiums in Secaucus.
According to Geoff Santini of the NJ Animal Control and Rescue and Humane Society, he apprehended the Secaucus woman soon after on seven counts of animal cruelty for allegedly dumping approximately 90 ducks at the mall and condos, seven of which were dead.
Officials were able to take a flock of about 25 Khaki Campbell ducks to the Barnyard Sanctuary in Knowlton Township after that. The Barnyard Sanctuary is a non-profit sanctuary for farm pets.
But the rest have been waddling around Harmon Cove Condominiums all summer near towers one and four.

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“They are Khaki Campbell ducks, known for their breast meat and prodigious egg laying.” — Lynn Kramer.
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The farm did not take all of the ducks because they did not have room at the time. So some were allowed to keep living outside – but with colder weather on the way, officials decided it was time to send them packing.
So on Friday, Sept. 23 local authorities conducted a “duck roundup.” Officials from the Secaucus Environmental Department, the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, the Secaucus Department of Public Works, and Mayor Michael Gonnelli helped round up about 60 Khaki Campbell ducks to a farm in Milford, N.J.
“They are Khaki Campbell ducks, known for their breast meat and prodigious egg laying,” said Lynn Kramer, a cleanup coordinator for the Secaucus Environmental Department.
“The residents have been worried about the ducks’ chances for the winter, since they don’t fly and food would be limited,” she said. “We were warned that the ducks wouldn’t survive.”
With suggestions from the farm, and no duck experience among the team, the group made a corral out of plastic mesh, fed the ducks in days leading up to the catch, and led them into the corral on the day it was time to go.
“After much research, we finally found a farm that agreed to take them, but then the question for us was how to catch them,” Kramer said. “We set up a corral made out of snow fencing, and started feeding the ducks inside the corral to get them used to going in and out.”
Kramer said it’s not as easy as it sounds. “None of us had any experience doing this before, although the farm gave us tips on how to pull it off.”
After this trip, there were still about 40 left on the grounds. The team went back at it again on Monday, Sept. 26 to send the rest to the farm.
According to Santini, the woman never explained why she dumped the ducks.