BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – John Newman feeds the LSU ducks every day and has for two years.

“I come and feed the ducks every afternoon, I started in July 2022 when my wife was sent home to hospice care and it was kind of a mental break for me to come here and feed the ducks” , Newman said.

To Newman, he says they are more like a family than just birds.

“I don’t have any kids, so they’re my kids, my ducks and my cats,” Newman added.

In 2022, after Newman’s wife lost her battle with cancer, these ducks became her companions. He even named some of them.

“It’s hard to realize that it’s the end, so I just needed to get away, I was taking care of her 24 hours a day, so I started coming here for about half an hour every day and feeding the ducks and it’s just nice to get away from all the craziness,” Newman explained.

During one of his recent visits, he noticed something worrying. Many ducks had been shot with darts. “I noticed there was a male Muscovy that had a dart in its neck,” Newman added. “The other two I saw were still carrying the darts, one still has it in his neck even though the dart fell.”

Wildlife and fisheries officers attempted to round up the injured ducks. The LWF captured five ducks, but a few are still there with darts in them. The LSU veterinary school had to euthanize one of them, another should soon be able to return to the lakes. Newman just wants to make sure all the ducks and his family are safe.

“I’m pretty sure it’s just kids who think it’s fun, but it’s not. They’re animals, they have feelings and they just don’t think about them,” Newman said.

Newman watches the ducks still impaled with darts. He says they seem to be eating and going about their business, but he worries how much longer they can manage this.

“By the way, it was ‘oh, I hope I don’t see any more ducks with darts in them’, it went from a sort of peace of mind to almost a feeling of dread coming to see this happening today,” Newman added.

Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries is actively investigating the incidents and the Humane Society is offering a $1,000 reward to anyone with information about who committed the attack on the ducks.

If you have information that could help you, you can contact: Wildlife and fishing at (800)442-2511, The Humane Society at (888) 648-6263, or at LSU Veterinary School at (225) 578-9900.

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