Board removing ducks from Gainesville Duck Pond area

The historic Duckpond Neighborhood in northeast Gainesville is losing one of its most important resident: its namesake ducks.

The Duckpond Neighborhood Association Board voted 15-3 on Tuesday night to remove 13 Muscovy Ducks from the pond.

Board Member Edith Kaan said the vote was a preventative measure because of the ducks’ hostile and messy nature.

This is not the first time the this issue has came up.

The board voted to remove 80 ducks from the pond in 2002 after neighbors complained the ducks left waste everywhere from roofs to sidewalks.

“Because years ago, we had a major renovation of the duck pond, and before the renovation there were about 80 Muscovy ducks,” Kaan said. “And the people who live around the pond here complained about them being very fertile, aggressive, messy, and imagine 80 ducks, that’s quite a lot of ducks.”

Recently, the ducks started breeding, and the issue came up again for their removal, Kaan said.

The board met Tuesday night to vote on the removal, which passed with a 15-3 vote. A wildlife expert is expected to remove the ducks.

“We won’t do any harm to them,” Kaan said. “Ant they will be relocated to a farm, so they will not be killed or anything.”

The board is considering replacing the Muscovies with a new species of ducks.

Cynthia Lopez said she was surprised to hear that the board voted to remove the ducks.

“I don’t understand why they would do something like that,” she said. “The duck pond is called a duck pond for a reason, and without the ducks, it’s just going to be a pond. It’s a little upsetting to hear that they are going to do something like that.”

Chris Alcantara edited this story online.