Vicar 'sorry' over duck shoot

Vicar 'sorry' over duck shoot

The pond is on church land

A vicar who authorised the shooting of ducks on a church pond has apologised for any distress it may have caused.

Villagers in Beeford, east Yorkshire, complained after Reverend Ray Yates sanctioned the cull in the grounds of St Leonard's Church.

The vicar said he had no option but to order the shootings after the colony of ornamental non-native ducks multiplied from four to 36 in one season and threatened to endanger other forms of wildlife

Mr Yates conceded that the cull may have been witnessed by residents in a nearby garden.

Native species

He said: "We sincerely apologise for any distress caused as a result of the cull.

"That is not what we wanted to happen."

In an official statement issued through the Diocese of York, Mr Yates, who has been at the church for about four years, added: "The pond on church land at Beeford is being restored as a habitat for native animal and plant species as part of the East Riding Ponds Project.

"Beeford Parochial Church Council was advised that native species could not be successfully reintroduced to the pond without the removal of the colony of ornamental non-native hybrid ducks which had come to dominate the pond's ecology.

Not killed cleanly

Discussions with the RSPCA resulted in the re-housing of the majority of the ducks early in 2002.

"However, in order to complete the restoration of the pond it has been necessary to cull the remaining ducks."

Resident Trevor Potts, 75, who is a Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals volunteer, said the cull could have been done more humanely.

"I understand they shot one but it was not killed cleanly and was in agony for some time," he said