8 MARCH 13-19, 2025 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | They’re an eight-to-ten-year commitment. When reality sets in, ducks end up in lakes and ponds all over. “Can we just say that all animals are a huge commitment?” she adds. “This is not something new.” “It’s not uncommon for people to drop off their domestic ducks to park proper- ties despite it being illegal to do so,” notes Holly Batchelder, Denver Parks & Recreation spokesperson. “In most cases, these animals do not survive in the wild after being domes- ticated. This seems to happen more after holidays, especially Easter, when people buy ducks as pets and end up not being able to care for them or just don’t want to care for them anymore. So they drop them off in a Denver park and expect them to survive.” Bird sanctuaries are unsuitable for do- mestic ducks; these places are, after all, full of wild birds, which can be very territorial. But there’s another issue that’s now mak- ing people shy away from accepting rescue ducks: the recent resurgence of avian fl u. In 2024, nine of the ten avian fl u cases in Colorado were from human exposure to farm chickens, three at a poultry farm in the northeastern part of the state. On February 13, the Denver Department of Health & Environment issued a warning about avian fl u, advising people not to inter- act with sick or dead birds. The signs of an infected bird include “tremors, lack of coor- dination, swelling around the head, diarrhea, lack of energy or movement and gasping for air,” the department warned, adding that like most viruses, avian fl u spreads easily by inhaling or touching the pathogen. “There are no cases of duck-to-human transmission of avian fl u in Colorado,” says Kristin Richmann, spokesman for the Colo- rado Department of Public Health & Envi- ronment’s Offi ce of Emergency Preparedness and Response. But that hasn’t stopped shelters from going on high alert. Although Humane Colorado (formerly the Denver Dumb Friends League) has historically sheltered ducks, it no longer is. “Due to the increased preva- lence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Infl uenza (HPAI), we can no longer accept livestock birds, including chickens, ducks and turkeys,” the organization says. As Buxton continues rescu- ing domesticated ducks, she’s had to take special action. “Part of my rescue process is quar- antining the ducks in a small pen and reaching out to a vet,” Buxton says. “It’s sad, but if they do test positive for avian fl u, they would have to be euthanized, and also all of the ducks in the same home.” THE DUCK STOPS HERE “These are the fi rst ones I ever rescued,” Buxton says as she sits at the picnic table in her backyard, watching Basil, Pip, Nigel and Ozzy frolic in the sun. “So of course I kept them. But since then I’ve rescued oodles more and rehomed them. Sometimes I’ll have a couple ducks that’ll stay a couple weeks. Sometime for a month. However long it takes.” Becoming a duck-adoption service was not Buxton’s initial concept. But in 2023 she became a moderator for a Facebook group called Colorado Domestic Duck Rescue Network, which helps find new homes for dumped ducks while offering advice, sharing resources and posting information. The group is also a space for tipsters to inform members about potential cases of duck abandonment. The more of these tips Buxton received, the more she followed up. And once she saw a duck in distress, there was no turning back. “When I rehome a duck, there is a vetting process,” Buxton says. “The person has to have the right housing, the right water source, and things like that. Kind of the standard adoption stuff, just like you’re adopting a car or a dog. I don’t just do a handoff. I usually just volunteer to drive them out to check out their new home. Even if it’s two hours away, that’s okay. I need to say goodbye to them anyway. And if the people wind up not wanting the ducks, I say, ‘Give them back to me.’” Buxton acknowledges that the ideal solu- tion isn’t rescue or adoption. It’s prevention. But that’s also the most diffi cult. “I wish I could put up signs that said, ‘Don’t dump ducks,’ but when did a sign ever stop anyone from doing anything? It would be like a ‘no-skateboarding’ sign,” she says. “I don’t know what the answer is. Educating people, I guess. And that’s why we have a Facebook group where everyone can come together and be like, ‘Hey, I’m moving next month. I need to get rid of ten ducks.’ That’s totally normal and totally fi ne. But then you have a thousand other duck owners who are like, ‘I’ll toss these birds away.’ “People are only concerned about what’s in front of them and what’s best for them,” she continues. “It’s a world that lacks empa- thy. And I think we, right now more than ever, see it all over the place. Just people lacking empathy for living things, for people, for hu- manity. I think they look down on people that are just trying to do good things, you know? Like, ‘Why save a duck? Why would that be important?’ Well, it’s important to that living thing. It’s important to our ecosystem. What is everyone decided to dump their ducks at Sloan’s Lake? Like if everybody just decided, ‘Who cares?’ Then where would we be?” Buxton is now in the process of making her rescue mission offi cial. “I’m applying for nonprofi t status,” she admits. “As a credible charity, I would be able to take donations and do fundraisers. I want to throw a 5K race for ducks at Sloan’s Lake where every- one can run and get a T-shirt and contribute to duck rescue. It’s not like I need thousands and thousands of dollars every month. I just want to be able to spread awareness and to pro- vide for the ducks that we’re trying to get.” At some point, she even plans to create her own duck sanctuary. “I want to buy a little piece of land for all the ducks I can save,” she says. “That’s kind of where I’m at. I’ve been looking into it, but of course it’s really expensive.” For the time being, though, Buxton’s backyard is sanctuary enough. “You’re being bad boy,” she says, scolding Basil as he runs after Nigel, then bodychecks him. “See, that’s pretty much the game right there. Basil chases Nigel, then tackles him, and then you’ll see Ozzy try and protect Nigel. But Ozzy isn’t helping him today. He’s not having any of it, oh my goodness.” Buxton thinks that Ozzy and Nigel are about two and a half years old. “I watched them mature into their adult colors right after I saved them,” she says. “Basil and Pip are just a little bit older. They’re getting bet- ter with mating season as they age. The fi rst two years I had them, it was just chaos. I had the two pairs separated because as soon as in the morning they’d see each other, they’d run up to the fence and start talking shit. It’d just be violence. “Drake jail is a real thing,” she continues. “Like with Basil, he is on his way to drake jail here pretty soon. When mating season starts, he’s gonna be a stinker. Males get super naughty. But he hasn’t quite gotten violent enough yet to where I’ve had to separate him. Nigel, he’s the pretty boy, so everyone loves him. But you can see that the back of his neck is kind of ruffl ed, and he could start to get worse wounds. I’ll have to section off an area or just divide the yard in half so that Basil can’t get to Nigel. That’s drake jail.” Once ducks grow past duckling-hood, it’s too late for them to bond to a human, Dux- ton says; you have to hold them as babies to properly forge a deep connection. That may be technically true, but it’s hard to believe she doesn’t have a solid relationship with this fl ock of four. As they honk and fl utter their fl ightless wings around the yard — “Male ducks have that raspy quack,” she notes, “like they’ve been smoking for fi fteen years.” — the ducks respond to Buxton as if she’s their mother. Or maybe their odd, featherless cousin. “Ducks are super smart,” she says. “They recognize voices. They have distinct person- alities. In relation to maybe other domestic animals, I would say they’re as smart as dogs. People know cartoon ducks. They know Daffy and Donald, but that’s all. “How can you not love a duck? I love them. I do,” she adds. “But I feel like ev- erybody loves ducks. They just don’t really know them yet.” Email [email protected]. News continued from page 6 Buxton plans to launch a nonprofi t for duck rescue. The fi rst four ducks that Buxton rescued have become part of her family. EVAN SÉMON EVAN SÉMON
