von Arx Wildlife Hospital

Hi Olivia, we do not see the documentation regarding this call, so we do not have a background regarding who you spoke with or the details surrounding the duck. Humane euthanasia is our last resort, but sometimes the best option for an animal who is suffering. As you state in your comment, the duck only had an injured leg and was still thriving, thus we wouldn’t even recommend bringing it into the wildlife hospital as it could cause more stress on the animal if it can still fly and eat. Birds are very resilient and can still thrive even with a leg or foot injury. A phone call with one of our staff members would not imply that the only answer is to euthanize an animal without fully evaluating it. When an animal is brought into our hospital, a full evaluation is done to determine what the next best step would be. Our trained wildlife rehab specialists who you would typically be speaking to on the phone, would not imply that euthanizing is the only option. We would appreciate it if you could call us back (239-262-2273) so we can discuss the matter further as we are a wildlife hospital here to support the local, fragile environment in Southwest Florida. Thank you!