The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) has ruled out poisoning in the case of a dozen dead ducks discovered in Peterborough in September.
The birds were found in the Tobin Court area by neighbour Judy Raymond. She was used to seeing ducks wander up nearby Evans Avenue from a pond in the city’s north end.
On Sept. 4, she saw ducks wandering up from the pond but an hour later a dozen had fallen over and were dead in a yard. Two other birds were weak and immobilized so Raymond and a friend took them to Shades of Hope Wildlife Refuge in Pefferlaw.
Management there suspected poisoning given the birds’ lethargic nature.
However, the birds eventually made a recovery and were released back into the wild.
The dead ducks were taken to the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative at the University of Guelph for testing by the MNRF.
On Saturday, Raymond received an update from the MNRF conservation officer, Mike Duncan.
“The ducks did not die of poisoning of any kind,” said Raymond.
Raymond said the birds were also tested extensively for botulism.
“Tests were negative but Mike did say that that testing is tough and often result in false negatives,” Raymond said.
An exact cause of death may never be determined.