FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Ducklings Dumped in Store’s Trash Bin

A poultry store owner may face animal cruelty charges in connection with the discovery of several live ducklings abandoned in a trash bin outside his business, officials said.

Fountain Valley Police Sgt. Ron Manda said the ducklings were discovered in the trash near China Poultry at 16281 Harbor Blvd. The business slaughters fowl on the premises.

“Seven little ducks were in the trash bin,” Manda said. “Two were in a ketchup can covered in red tomato sauce. They looked pitiful. One had a broken leg. They had to have been hatched before they were put in the trash bin. Some were three inches tall or taller.”

The ducklings were discovered by employees of neighboring businesses.

“They were really noisy . . . whining loudly,” said Susie Grew, a hairdresser working nearby who helped rescue the birds. The trash also contained scores of eggs, many of which had started to hatch before the ducklings inside died.

Kien Trinh, who opened China Poultry in 1988, said a new employee had mistakenly discarded the ducklings and added that he will “write a letter and apologize to everybody” for the incident.

The surviving ducklings are being nursed back to health by a wildlife veterinarian, but their recovery will be difficult without their mother, Orange County Animal Control officials said.

Police will complete their report next week, and the district attorney’s office will decide whether to press charges, Manda said.