No fowl play for Dáil ducks saved from pond death trap

DUCKS on an artificial pond in Leinster House had to be rescued because they were dying off, it emerged yesterday.

The Seanad heard that three fowl had died in recent weeks and the Dublin Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA) had to take some ducks into its Rathfarnham shelter.

Senator Joe O’Toole said it reflected badly on the Oireachtas if it allowed anything to happen to the fowl in the landscaped lake overlooked by an indoor coffee dock.

He said during the Order of Business in the Seanad: “Over the past couple of weeks apparently three of those ducks have died. It reflects very badly on the Houses of the Oireachtas if we don’t take responsibility for this type of issue.

“It will be global headlines if we allow a couple of harmless, innocent ducks to die on our property just for the sake of them not being looked after.”

Senator Martin Mansergh quipped: “We certainly don’t want any dead ducks around the Houses of the Oireachtas.”

Inspector Robert Kenny of the DSPCA said duck mortality reflected the general laws of nature - that the strongest survive.

Of the Leinster House fowl, he said: “They had a fresh supply of water, foliage. If people want to give small bits of food that’s well and fine.”

He said only about two ducklings out of a litter of 16 normally survive. Others are killed by predators.