Volunteers Help Rescue 3 Abandoned Ducks From Cold LI Pond

BABYLON, NY—In a moment that might have warmed Holden Caulfield's heart, three ducks were rescued from the cold at a Babylon Village pond on Wednesday.

The three Pekin ducks, two female and one male, had raw and swollen feet from the cold and two had a staph infection. Rescuer John Di Leonardo, who heads animal rescue group, Long Island Orchestrating for Nature (LION) worked with Babylon Village officials and volunteers to help save the ducks, spotted by a village employee at Argyle Lake.

The ducks will now get daily foot baths and antibiotics at LION's shelter in Riverhead and are expected to recover.

Pekin ducks are a domestic species that cannot withstand outdoor winter temperatures, Di Leonardo told Patch.

"Abandoning domestic fowl is cruel and illegal, and no different than abandoning a dog or a cat. When they’re abandoned to fend for themselves, they often freeze to death, starve or are killed by predators, as they lack the skills to adequately forage and the ability to fly or migrate."

LION has reported this incident of abandonment to the the Suffolk County SPCA and LION is offering a reward of $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.