Abstract
SCIENCE Service (Washington, D.C.) publishes a Berlin message concerning the slaughter of migratory ducks by decoy ponds in Europe. In Germany there are at present eleven decoys, with an average annual catch of 40,000 ducks; in Denmark two, with an average of 12,000; in Belgium four, average not stated. England is said to have twenty-one, capturing about 600 ducks; and Holland to have the greatest number of decoys, 145, having an average yearly catch of 300,000 ducks—a number until now suppressed in the interest of the Dutch canning industry, which has built up a profitable export trade upon the proceeds of the decoys. The finding of ringed birds shows that the ducks caught in Holland come largely from Scandinavia and Finland, and the fear is that the supply will eventually fail under this serious annual drainage. The open season lasts from July 27 until Feb. 14, or even March 13, and a shortening of this period would have a good effect, but it is said that the Dutch Government is unwilling to interfere with a profitable home industry. Nevertheless, an effort will be made at the International Conference, to have the open season reduced to a period from Sept. 15 until Jan. 31.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Duck Decoy Ponds in Europe. Nature 130, 470 (1932). https://doi.org/10.1038/130470c0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/130470c0