to report this to the police, even though I am technically implicating myself?

[Imperrysmum]

My local park is locked overnight and isn’t opened until 6am. It’s a huge park but in one area part of the fence is missing so I squeeze through and go into the park to walk my dog at 4am (he is an XL bully so I like to go the park when nobody is about)

The last few mornings when I have been walking round by the pond there have been a couple of men sitting on the benches next to the pond “feeding the ducks”. I noticed they have black bin liners next to them too. I’m pretty sure I recognise these men from working in a takeaway restaurant.

I am concerned they are trying to catch ducks. I hope i’m wrong, but I just can’t see why two adult men would sit feeding the ducks at 4am?! Especially as the park is officially closed and they have bin liners next to them.

AIBU to report this to the police, even though I’ll be implicating myself too?

Really? I'd love to read a news article about it. It's one of those things that gets told as fact so often but I've never actually seen it.

It is the food safety people you’d contact not police.

It's still a public place, even if it's closed to the public at the time you use it. You aren't being responsible. You are breaking the law by trespassing, and by walking your dog off lead. You can't guarantee it can't escape that park, because you manage to get in via an weak spot, so it could get out.

Poaching this has been happening a lot lately. My DD likes feeding the ducks I get her the floating duck pellets. At one of the canals we go to a local told us you won't find any duck's on the canal. We had been walking a while didn't see a single duck.

Went to Grange a few weeks ago there was hardly any ducks only 1 geese. To go there that early is suspicious.

Ducks are wild animals. How can you steal one?

Aren’t the ducks we eat a different breed to mallard? And taste different.

OP you knew fine well that the breed of your dog would get this thread trending so well played. It’s completely irrelevant obviously. You can anonymously report but then you’d have the risk of a police presence if you plan to continue your 4am break-ins. You’d have to weigh this up with how much you want to apprehend the duck thieves.

I pressed send too soon.

I think your dog off the lead is more of a danger to the public than whatever these 2 men (who you recognise in 4am light) are up to.

People were arrested stealing swans - it’s illegal to take wild birds.

I’d imagine that’s because swans are a protected species.

I reported illegal shellfish collectors here and the police turned up. Not seen the collectors since. Taking wild ducks outside the season is illegal and even in the season there are very tight regulations. Tell the police. It denudes the environment for everyone. My father reported similar, swans being taken, in his local river.

Ffs how sad are you. How dodgy do you think you look trespassing with a dangerous.

Stealing ducks from a pond has gotta be a whole lot easier & cheaper than going on a shoot for them.

My word this is the most racist thing I have read on here in a while. I recal in the 80s, all the rumours about takeaways stealing cats etc. These are the wrong type of ducks and would taste bad. They would be a nightmare to catch and would take ages to pluck and prepare. Its much less hassle to just buy cheap duck wholesale.

I know about it because part of my job swinging on the end of a microchip reader. Absolutely true.

In the village I grew up in in the 80's there was a spate of cats going missing. The elderly neighbour got up in the night and observed two men with a folding circular net trying to throw it over her cat. We had the answers then.

I'd be careful OP..

You can have your XL Bully off lead on private property YOU own or have permission to be on.

Here, you have no permission and are trespassing. This absolutely does not constitute 'private property' as far as the exemption rules go and if caught you do stand to have your dog seized.

Hire a private field like everyone else - there are some that have the necessary insurances and fencing for XL Bullies.

As far as the dodgy blokes go - I have heard of people catching ducks/swans/geese in parks to eat them - usually passed off as 'we didn't understand that we're not allowed to do this'...

I also live in a place where the modern version of sheep rustling goes on - the theives are expert butchers, they turn up in the middle of the night, do their grisly deeds and are away rapidly with just some panicked bleating to signal their presence.

For any farmer who is asleep beyond ear-shot of their field, the first they know about it is the next day when they find a pile of bones, guts and hide on the ground and some tyre tracks.

A good friend of mine lost three of her lovely show Texels this way and had she not hurtled out on her quad with the biggest dog on hearing the panicked baa-ing, she'd probably have lost the whole group, but they heard her coming and fled.

@Imperrysmum Are they Peking or Bombay ducks?

Go to the takeaway, ask about the provenance of their duck. If they’re vague and look awkward, order some anyway, then DNA test it against the existing duck families in the park. If they match, gather all the suspects into a room, and an amenable but skeptical police detective, explain at some length how you’ve reached your conclusion and then reveal the guilty parties.

You put some bread in a big black binliner and then tie it really quick when the duck wanders in.

Daft plan. You can’t realistically expect OP to do all this without posting some vague hyperbolic posts on a local Facebook page to ensure the maximum rage vs tangible facts ratio is buoyant.

Broke in? What do you have worth stealing? Ducks?

Sadly a lot of very pretty and unusual ducks were stolen from Grange a few years ago.

@Floatlikeafeather2 I guess you could be right. But she doesn't need to say what breed of dog does she?

No, I mentioned my dogs breed because I knew people would ask why I am walking my dog at 4am 🙄 and it’s to avoid judgy people like those on this thread