4:20pm Friday 5th February 2010
By Ian Noble
AMOUROUS ducks are sending locals quackers over concerns that their aggressive mating rituals are upsetting visitors to a rural market town.
As Valentine’s Day approaches the love-struck drakes in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, are causing the locals heartache not love.
Residents fear the passionate birds which live around Cod Beck, near the town centre, may put off people from visiting the area.
The male ducks, say locals, have a wild mob-handed mating technique when chasing partners in the breeding season due to a smaller number of females.
Thirsk Town Council has held long talks over the problem and is keen to see the problem resolved as the town relies on tourists.
The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Natural England and the RSPB have all been spoken about the feathered squabble.
Town councillor Alan Morton said: "There are so many ducks and they need spreading out a bit.
"The problem can be distressing for young children and we’ve had a number of complaints about this.
"The law forbids us from shooting them or anything like that and we’re working within the law and talking to groups about this."
North Yorkshire County councillor for Thirsk, Gareth Dadd, said: "Although some people think this is a bit quackers it could actually cause offence to some.
"Perhaps this is a problem that we need to take a serious view on."
As yet nothing has been done and the council is keen to have a humane answer to the problem but the duck mating season starts this month.
New homes have been located for some of the birds but locals fear the removed romance seeking birds would simply fly back to Cod Beck.
A RSPB spokesman said: "This is quite a familiar scenario when it comes to ducks and when it comes to mating they are quite aggressive.
"The local authority could look at a temporary ban on the public feeding the birds to see if that dispersed them and solved the problem.
"I’m not sure of the legal situation when it comes to moving them and they may just come back anyway.
"They would need to speak to Natural England about getting a licence to move them but it’s an interesting problem."
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