Sanctuary Stories
Dumped ‘Lockdown Ducklings’ Find Their Forever Home Together
Purchased to provide comfort, cuteness, or social media clout, ducklings are often abandoned as they grow into ducks
Since the spring, Unity Farm Sanctuary co-founder Kathy Halamka has been coping with a sudden surge of new feathered residents. There are 23 of these “lockdown ducklings” now at the Sherborn, Massachusetts sanctuary, but, says Halamka, they are just a small part of a much bigger problem that is impacting sanctuaries across North America: baby ducks used for temporary entertainment during the Covid-19 lockdown, now with nowhere to go.
Of the ducks currently under Halamka’s care, some arrived in a cardboard box dumped on the sanctuary’s driveway, some were called in by desperate owners looking for a way out, and some came from other overwhelmed sanctuaries. She blames a mix of lockdown boredom, a general thoughtlessness towards animals, and one viral social media trend.
“I started hearing from my younger volunteers, ‘oh that’s right, I saw videos on Tik Tok with cute ducklings,”…
