Dogs' Muscovy massacre

Bimal Lal and his Moscovy ducks. Photo / Janna Dixon

Bimal Lal is petrified his neighbour's pitbulls could attack his children after they killed dozens of his ducks on his property.

Lal, a 37-year-old delivery driver, returned to his home on East Coast Rd in Browns Bay after work to find 37 of his 80 Muscovy black and white ducks dead in their enclosure.

He said a neighbour chased two pitbulls down the driveway with a stick after watching them snoop around the ducks about three months ago.

Then, on January 28, the dogs returned and jumped a 2m plastic fence into the enclosure, killing the birds.

"All the ducks, they were all dead on the ground, a couple of them [were bloody] but I think the dogs were just playing with them and they just killed them then left them, they didn't want to eat them," Lal said.

He disposed of the ducks by filling up a 44-litre drum which made him "feel sick".

He feared for the safety of his children who often play on the driveway and back garden close to where the attack happened.

"I told them to get rid of the dogs because I don't want to worry about the ducks and the neighbours have kids and they always play around here, and my children," he said. "I'm very scared."

Lal said a farmer gave him a few ducks as pets about three years ago but they kept breeding until he had about 80.

He sold some of them on Trade Me for $10-20 each and often swapped their eggs for bread and vegetables from the local stores to feed them.

However, Auckland Council's licensing and compliance manager Carole Todd said he was not licensed to have more than six ducks.

"The ducks were kept in a poorly constructed and unsuitable enclosure," Todd said. "More than six ducks requires written consent from the council and no application has been received."

She said the pitbulls were classed as menacing and one of them needed to be de-sexed to control its aggression and desire to go roaming.

However, she did not blame the attack on the breed of the dog. "Dogs will naturally chase birds and any similar sized dog could have been responsible for the outcome," she said.

The owner of the registered dogs, Jason Evans, was not available for comment. His mother, Rose Evans, said the pitbulls were usually kept in a cage but a flatmate let them out that day without keeping an eye on them.

The family had offered an apology and monetary compensation for the ducks but was shocked when Lal asked for $45 per duck.

"It seems a bit crazy when the ducks are selling on Trade Me for $10 or $12 and his [demand] is $45," said Rose.