Feral ducks plague South Florida town

OAKLAND PARK, Fla., May 9 (UPI) -- A war against ducks is under way in South Florida where residents of Oakland Park are battling an exploding population, officials said.

Gangs of Muscovy ducks have taken over porches and yards and caused traffic to come to a halt while they waddle across town streets, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Wednesday.

Resident Peter Cramer said he jumped into his swimming pool recently to rescue three baby ducklings that got trapped.

"The mother duckling was trying to attack me for saving her stupid little chicks," Cramer told the Sun-Sentinel.

The ducks are considered non-natives to Florida and invasive, so moving them somewhere else is prohibited. A federal rule that went into effect in 2010 placed the Muscovy ducks on a list of federally protected birds.

Oakland Park Mayor Anne E. Sallee said she recently received a threat from residents vowing to band together and stop paying taxes unless the ducks are removed.

"Unfortunately there's not a lot we can do," Sallee said. "You just have to learn to live with it."