AN INVESTIGATION has been launched after horrified eyewitnesses saw children – some as young as 12 – raiding nests and slaughtering ducklings in People's Park.
They saw youths smash duck eggs and throw birds to one another – even drop-kicking a duckling.
The RSPCA is also looking into claims that some ducklings were stomped on, and that a live bird was posted through the letterbox of a resident living near the park, in Grimsby.
It is understood the culprits were aged between 12 and 14 years old, and the incident happened during school hours.
A North East Lincolnshire Council spokesman confirmed that some youths were thrown off the park after being seen with fishing nets, trying to scoop up ducklings from the lake.
Most of the ducks at the park nest on the island in the middle of the lake.
The spokesman said: "They were thrown off the park as soon as they were spotted."
And an RSPCA spokeswoman said: "An incident has been reported to the RSPCA and an officer has been tasked to look in to it."
Ward councillor Andrew De Freitas is the treasurer of the Friends of People's Park group.
"I am absolutely disgusted that young people could indulge in such acts," he said.
"It makes you wonder what is going on in their brains. I hope their parents will take action.
"For this to happen during the school day when they should have been at school is not a good example.
"And if they can be identified by what school they attend, I hope the school will take action."
A resident in nearby Lambert Road, who did not wish to be named, said: "Morons have been caught in the pond saying they are fishing, but they have been taking the ducklings and ducks – we are fuming.
"The gardener does his best to stop them, but he cannot be there all the time. Something has to be done to stop this."
The brutal incident happened days after it was claimed that seven cygnets and 10 ducklings were stolen from The Duke Of York Gardens, in Grimsby.
A member of the public using the park challenged the youths and reported their behaviour to the warden.
The woman, who also did not wish to be named, said: "I asked them – two boys and a girl aged about 13 – what they were doing.
"They were wearing a school uniform and said there was a teacher with them, but I checked the cafe and there were no teachers.
"It looked to me as if they were up to no good. They were reaching up into the tree with their fishing nets. It got worse and worse after that.
"Someone else had seen it and reported it to the school."
After reading about the apparent theft at The Duke Of York Gardens in the Grimsby Telegraph, reader John Durham, of Yarborough Road, Grimsby, commented: "I hope we can get to the bottom of these vanishings and name the ones responsible.
"It appears seven cygnets have gone missing, but strangely the parents are still there.
"It must be a clever predator who knows more food will be available if the parents are left to breed."
The RSPCA has appealed to anyone with information to call the charity's cruelty hotline on 0300 1234 999.
