Ducks wear out their welcome in Seabrook

Muscovy duck:: Photo by Wilfredo Lee: AP

Seabrook's making its move against the ducks that keep pooping in one of its neighborhood's swimming pools.
Last week, City Council gave preliminary approval to a change that removes Muscovy ducks from protections afforded to wild birds under the city's existing ordinance, Mayor Gary Renola said. The measure must still be approved two other times to go into effect, but if that happens as expected, the birds would be subject to a humane removal," he said.
They cannot be killed, Renola said. Those who remove them would have to notify the city's police department 72 hours in advance, he said.
The intent is for the ducks to be trapped and relocated," Renola said.
The issue of Muscovy ducks was prompted by the Lake Cove subdivision's ongoing problem with them, Renola said.
The subdivision has unsuccessfully battled the ducks pooping at its swimming pool, and it got so bad last year that the pool had to be closed for several days.
It really got to be more than a nuisance," Renola said. It really became a health hazard."
Last fall, the Lake Cove homeowners association hired a contractor to remove some of the ducks. But when the contractor called city officials to let them know, he was informed that doing so would violate a city ordinance prohibiting removal of birds.
When neighboring Webster changed its own ordinance lifting protections for Muscovy ducks last month, Seabrook took notes.
Most of the city's Muscovy ducks are located in the Lake Cove subdivision, which still has a contract with a contractor to remove some but not all of the birds.
Renola said he expects that removal to happen once the change to the ordinance is finalized.
I'm always reluctant to get involved in this type of thing, but there was no way that homeowners association had any leeway," he said. We had to do something."