h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi Everybody.

I heard that on the news, either today or recently English authoroties are planning to cull a lot of spanish ducks cause of them being more successfur than the native English ones.

Does anybody know anything about this? What the particular breeds of duck are or whrtr i could find out more?

Thank you, Lord Goosberry.

There is an entry on the BBC:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2814293.stm

It's the Spanish ducks we're trying to protect by killing the American ones (Oh, dear, doesn't bode well for the tri-party invasion of Iraq, does it? )

Poor Ruddy Ducks, its going to cost 5 million to kill you all apparently, like we have no better use for the money. Protestors stopped them from doing it before, maybe they will again. There are Ruddy Ducks in the Royal Parks in London, can't imagine them shooting them all there.

If they hadnt been imported in the first place there wouldnt be a problem now... Just like a load of plant and animal imports...

Did I hear somewhere they are planning to reintroduce the wolf to Scotland?
If there are ducks to get rid of in the royal parks I'm sure the royals would do a good job - they have plenty of practice.

controversy

No worse having a pack of wolves running loose in some of the remoter highlands to keep the deer population under control, than having these black panthers roaming round the forests down here on the edge of Wales. There have been so many sightings locally that there must be enough of them out there to start breeding soon.

The problems would only start when the wolves decided that it was easier to catch sheep than deer.

Then you train the sheep to use shotguns to stop the wolves eating them...

Then the sheep decide it's easier to make a living holding up banks than standing around in a field all day...

There is a birdwatchers club in the Midlands which uses the Ruddy Duck as their logo/emblem. What will they do after all the ducks get shot and eaten or flown back to the States business clash (or whatever is the cheapest option)?

Om

business class not "clash"

I doubt there is a more practical way of getting rid of the poor old ruddy duck if that's really what we want to do, than shooting them.

Why need it cost money though? People pay large sums of money to shoot grouse. Won't someone pay to shoot these hapless creatures? Or do it for fun, sick b*****ds!

Good point about the money, sad but true.

Best bit about this is that, while we are going to cull the ruddy duck to protect the Spanish white duck, the Spanish are busy shooting the white duck because it's not protected in Spain. Hooray.

I'm not bothered by the idea of shooting ruddy ducks, any more than I was bothered by them killing hedghogs on Lewis. I am, however, bothered by the sheer numbers of deaths as roadkill each year. I wonder how many of the animal rights protestors drive cars?

I can't say I've noticed many ruddy ducks swimming about in either of the two royal parks I visit regularly... what I have noticed are thousands of Canada geese cr*pping everywhere and eating all the grass. The same along the towpath of our stretch of the Thames. Can't we cull/repatriate to Canada/offer invcentives for Canada geese to move somewhere else instead and leave these rather pretty ducks alone?

Quite right our local duck pond is full of canada geese and one red crested pochard which caused a bit of exitement - you don't see those everyday!

We do have loads of other ducks etc, but I shall not tell all just yet, its too exciting! No ruddy ducks though, and soon never will