A 71-year-old California man has been charged after allegedly beating a mallard duckling to death at a community swimming pool, according to prosecutors.
The incident unfolded on May 13 in Irvine, when residents tried to usher a mallard mother duck and her 10 ducklings out of the swimming pool. Randall Lee Bertsch, who was also swimming in the water, allegedly began yelling at the ducks before grabbing several of them and placing them into a small box, prosecutors say.
During the attack, which was videotaped, Bertsch was allegedly seen using a blue recycling trash can to beat the ducklings trapped inside the box before throwing them into the trash.
Then, according to prosecutors, he hurled the trash bin at the mother duck and other ducklings as they tried to escape.
One duckling was beaten to death, and another was seriously injured, prosecutors say. The eight other ducklings and their mother seemingly managed to escape injury.
The Irvine Police Department confirmed that the injured duckling had suffered severe head trauma and was transported to a veterinary clinic for care.
“These are gentle creatures who were no threat to anyone or anything, and no one will be allowed to inflict such intentional violence on helpless baby animals,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a press release.
Spitzer added, “The Orange County District Attorney’s Office refuses to tolerate the abuse of animals, and anyone who engages in violence against animals will be prosecuted with the full weight of the law.”
Bertsch was arrested at his home by the Irvine Police Department and later released after posting a $20,000 bond, prosecutors said. He is now wanted on a $50,000 arrest warrant after a judge approved a request from prosecutors for increased bail due to the violence of the alleged incident.
On June 25, prosecutors announced that Bertsch had been charged with two felony counts of animal cruelty and three felony counts of attempted animal cruelty. The 71-year-old has also been charged with one misdemeanor count of harassment of animals, and five felony enhancements of the personal use of a weapon, a trash bin.
If found guilty on all counts, he faces a maximum sentence of seven years and six months in jail.
According to prosecutors, migratory birds, including ducks, are federally protected and cannot be relocated or moved. The Irvine Police Department also noted that migratory birds nesting near pools cannot be moved.
