Strange ideas and strange people are out there

Oregon Duck Spray Painted Orange

By Joseph Friedrichs, 12-06-09

	When green ducks go orange. Submitted photo.

An unknown amount of swine were slaughtered in order to produce the footballs used during the Oregon Ducks versus Oregon State Beavers football game Thursday night.  And while the Ducks emerged victorious, an unknown perpetrator in Albany came out as the biggest swine of them all.

An unknown goon and/or goons captured a male mallard in Albany, spray-painted Beavers’ orange on the bird and bound its legs with duct-tape.

The duck survived, but its feathers no longer shed water. If it were released today, the bird would drown and die.
 
“Insane,” said Jeff Picton, executive director of the nonprofit Chintimini Wildlife Center, where the bird must spend the winter.  

Officials with the wildlife rehabilitation center said the paint would not come off.  

“Anything we put on there would be more toxic than the paint,” Picton told the Albany Democrat-Herald.   The only alternative is to keep the duck through the winter until it molts and develops a new coat of feathers.  

As of now the bird’s eyes are clear, though, because it likely closed them when it was sprayed.  Picton said he didn’t know if the bird would suffer from paint that reached the birds skin during the incident.

The wildlife center where the bird is recovering is near Corvallis, home of the Beavers.   Picton said he would consult with the animal control officer to see if anything could be learned about the perpetrator.  

Oregon defeated the Beavers 37-33 Thursday night. It was a great game aired on national television. The Beavers went down. Eugene was a city of celebration.

And because of some heinous act unrelated to sports, a duck ended up in the worst condition.

Pigskin at its worst. 

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