Duck hunt comes to conclusion in southern Taiwan
南台灣捕鴨活動圓滿結束
| Expensive pet recovered after being spooked by firecrackers and flying over a fence
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — One would be tempted to call it a “wild goose chase” but it was a duck that went missing with police precincts launching a massive hunt since Monday (Jan.30). Firecracker celebrations for the Jade Emperor, also known as the Lord of Heaven, startled a domesticated duck living in Meinong District, Kaohsiung, leading it to take flight and flee in the middle of the night, posing a threat to itself and traffic, per Liberty Times. Surveillance footage later spotted the duck avoiding traffic from passing scooters and cars. The runaway duck then encountered a concerned couple who quickly scooped it up in their arms and brought it home with them. Kaohsiung’s Qishan Police Department said the duck hunt began when they were contacted by a woman surnamed Hsueh (薛) in her 60s who reported her pure white call duck had recently gone missing. She was heartbroken as she had been raising her feathered companion for more than two years. Call ducks are a particular breed popular in Holland for their calm demeanor and small size. They are easily domesticated and trained, so much so that they can be used as real-life decoys for duck hunting. They are also suitable as pets. However, they may be triggered by loud noises such as recent volleys of firecrackers to celebrate the Jade Emperor on the ninth day of the Lunar New Year, a sound which emanated from one household after another in Meinong. It was this loud noise which caused Hsueh’s call duck to fly over a fence and disappear. Zhongtan Police Precinct Chief Fu Chun-yi (傅鈞詣) said Hsueh asked police for assistance to track down her duck. Police officer Kuo Wang-lin (郭旺霖) checked surveillance footage in the area and found that her duck traveled along Zhongxiao Road where it eventually encountered a concerned couple on a scooter. The policeman then checked the license plate of the scooter and made a call to the home address. A man surnamed Cheng (鄭) answered and said that he was worried the duck would be hit by a car, so he picked it up, and added he also checked if there was an anklet or other identifying marks. With no way to contact the owner, he simply took it home and began to care for it, where he was surprised how comfortable the duck was with people, leading him to speculate it was someone's pet. He struggled with how to deal with the duck until he received the call from the police. According to the pet industry, call ducks can fetch a market price between NT$5,000-20,000 (US$150-600). It makes a peculiar sound and a mature male can grow to no more than 570 grams. Police later went to Cheng's house to collect the duck and returned it to Hsueh at the Zhongtan Police Precinct. Hsueh was overjoyed after being reunited with her prized pet, profusely thanking both the police and the public for their help. |
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| Sean Scanlan, Taiwan News, Staff Writer | |
| 2023-02-01 |
