Firefighters criticized for duck rescue

Published: Nov. 9, 2009 at 4:44 PM
NATURES PECKING ORDER

CHALFORD HILL, England, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- A British lobbying group has criticized a fire department for spending six hours on the rescue of a pet duck trapped in a pond's overflow pipe.

Chris and Karen Hutchens said a five-man team of Gloucestershire firefighters arrived at their Chalford Hill, England, home just before 9:30 a.m. and dug a trench to free their duck, Brownie, from the pipe, The Sun reported Monday.

"It was such a relief when a fire engine turned up and they started digging the hole. The pipe was about 4 feet underground but they kept going, they were wonderful and really went beyond the call of duty," Karen Hutchens said.

However, a spokeswoman for lobbying group TaxPayers' Alliance criticized the firefighters' actions.

"Whilst no one likes to see a duck suffering, animal rescue is not the central job of the fire service," she said. "In this case there were no emergency calls pending, but calls can crop up at the last minute which could be much more pressing than the rescue of a duck."

A spokesman for the fire department said firefighters have humanitarian roles in their communities and were able to help in this case due to the lack of emergency calls.

© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints




Additional News Stories
Essence to honor Cicely Tyson (27 min)
Billboard asks if Bush is missed (31 min)
Daniel Kerrigan's death ruled a homicide (45 min)
Sudan, Chad mending fences (50 min)
Ex-police officer jailed on murder charge (55 min)
McCarthy escorted out of Ethiopian church
Kings of Leon set for Bonnaroo fest
fark
Armed robbery suspect who continually threatened to kill employees described as 'nicely dressed'...
This First Amendment thing - it does not mean what you think it means
Photoshop this dapper gentleman on a loopy couch
Teacher hits student with clipboard. Student allegedly sustained bodily injury, shock, and injury...
Study shows older women have higher risk of having autistic children.... because the vaccines multiply...
Those body-scanners, which will in no way invade your privacy, are being used to invade the privacy...