SYDNEY (AFP) - Animal lovers in Australia have cried foul over a Sydney golf club's plan to cull native wood ducks living on its course, it was reported Tuesday.
The plan by Sydney's Warringah Golf Club to kill the ducks because they are ripping up its greens led to vandalism and threats against the course, local media reported.
The club opted to hire a marksman to shoot its duck population after other deterrents, such as cat-like objects and rubber snakes, failed to work.
But protesters dug up some of the greens in the dead of night over the weekend and left a threatening note after learning of the plan, The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper said.
"Warning: you bastards kill one bird and we will destroy all your greens at our leisure. We will be watching and waiting," the note said.
Club manager Brian Leggett said it had decided to cancel the cull due to the vandalism.
"I can understand people being concerned and upset but you don't then take things into your own hands. This moves it to the crackpot element," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service said it had issued the duck shooting licence because it believed the club had tried everything else it could to prevent the water fowl damaging the course.
"We hate this kind of stuff but they are suffering thousands of dollars worth of damage every year. Normally, if they get rid of a few, the other ducks get the message," spokesman John Dengate told ABC radio.
"We are convinced the golf club has tried everything they can to get the ducks to go somewhere else," he said.
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