Wildlife experts and neighbors continue to search for an answer after someone shot two ducks with blow darts in Murrells Inlet.
After days of trying, volunteers have still been unable to catch the ducks, and Carolina Waterfowl Rescue is offering a reward up to more than $900 for information.
One duck was shot in the head, the other in the neck.
Even though the darts are sticking out of the ducks’ bodies, they are still able to fly. That’s why volunteers say it’s been so hard to catch them.
“I just think it’s a horrible horrible thing,” Rosanne Trifaro, who lives in the International Club neighborhood, said. “I don’t know how anyone could do something like that to this poor, defenseless animal. You know, they’re ducks, they’re so cute, and they don’t hurt anybody.”
Under state law, it’s not even the legal time of year where you can hunt ducks. The season starts in November and ends in January.
However, even if these two ducks were shot within season, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources says the manner they were shot is not permitted.
“That would be wanton waste. You can’t, you don’t go out and do that, nobody condones that,” SCNDR spokesperson Robert McCullough said. “That’s just sad!”
Under SCDNR’s wanton waste definition you must immediately kill any wounded birds and count those birds toward your daily bag limit.
“Most of the hunters, fisherman I know are sportsmen, and they would never want to wound or harm something like that just to let them walk around and suffer,” McCullough said.
That’s why McCullough said, if he had to guess, this was done by a couple of kids who got a lucky shot.
He said he is not a veterinarian, so he cannot say for sure how long the ducks will survive, but said he has seen other animals survive with arrows in their bodies for months and in some cases years.
What was done in a couple seconds has caused days of frustration for multiple different volunteers and businesses all trying to get the ducks some help.
The Snake Chaser, Carolina Waterfowl Rescue, Black River Outdoors, and other volunteers have all tried over the last week to catch the ducks.
Carolina Waterfowl Rescue is offering a reward for information that leads to whoever shot the ducks.
The reward was previously set at $900.
On Wednesday, the rescue told News13 that the reward was changed to $500, and the remaining money will go toward the ducks’ medical bills should they be caught.
According to SCDNR, the punishment would be a misdemeanor and also some sort of fine would have to be paid.
If you see the ducks, stay away from them and call local law enforcement or SCDNR.
