INDIANAPOLIS – After an Indianapolis woman found no luck on her own, animal rights group PETA stepped up to demand the city make a change to the canal to keep more baby ducklings from dying.
Barbara Smock says she’s seen it many times: Ducklings and goslings unable to jump out of the canal in downtown Indianapolis. The cement edges lining the canal are significantly higher than the water line.
Even when the water is at a normal height, baby fowl are unable to get out – unlike their bigger, older, adult counterparts. And when the water is low? Not a chance.
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“I would see them struggling to get out and I would see them drown right before my eyes,” Smock said.
She says they would drown by simply setting their heads down in the water out of exhaustion.
Smock says it’s a problem she took to the city last year, but nothing was done.
Now, she’s back demanding change again, and this time with PETA on her side.
The animal rights group captured images that showed dead baby birds floating along the canal and sent them to city officials.
They say the fix needs to be built-in ramps or some other type of slope – not the sandbags the city currently puts along the canal, which often sink and do little to help the birds escape the water.
“(We’re) not talking mass quantities. Just enough for them to find something to get out on and get on land, so they can rest and recuperate,” Smock said.
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And now it’s a suggestion the city is taking to heart.
A few days ago, the city told RTV6 that “nature should be expected to run its course.”
But now the city says it is planning a change in direction: It’s installing four ramps along the canal, specifically for ducks and geese to get out of the water.
“It’s very simple: A few ramps will save many, many lives, and it’s our wildlife. It’s something we should care about as citizens,” Smock said.
The four ramps the city plans to install will be permanent structures. The city says it wants to reach out to a vocational school in the area to help out with the construction.
But for now, there’s no timeline on when we can expect them to be installed.
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