Duck-killing infuriates neighbors

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., April 15 (UPI) -- A Florida couple have been charged with theft for capturing ducks from a community lake and arranging to have them killed at an animal shelter.

Robert and Blain Aymond infuriated their Frenchman's Landing subdivision neighbors in Palm Beach Gardens, who showed up at a preliminary hearing en masse last month wearing yellow ribbons with pictures of ducks, The Palm Beach Post reported.

One woman, Lorraine Lyon, tried to bring the ducks's ashes to the hearing but was unable to get them past security.

While critics call the Aymonds duck-killers, their lawyer, Mitchell Beers, said there is another side to the story. The couple raise orchids and were tired of duck droppings on their plants. They thought they had a right to get rid of ducks on their property, he added.

"It's getting out of hand," Beers said. "They're sending pictures of ducks to the judge, putting signs up saying that my clients murdered the ducks."

The Aymonds herded eight ducks onto their patio and then arranged for a trapper to take them to the shelter. They are scheduled to go on trial next month on a misdemeanor charge of stealing ducks valued at $280.