Riverside Animal Services Defends Duck Adoptions

Riverside County animal services says it acted lawfully when nearly 300 of 480 ducks seized from an Anza property were adopted by one person in less than a day. (kesq.com) The Riverside County Department of Animal Services said the ducks were surrendered from an Anza property after an overcrowding investigation and called the intake its largest single duck intake in more than a decade. The agency said it began contacting rescue partners on April 14, 2026, a week before the public dispute escalated. (kesq.com) At a San Jacinto Animal Campus adoption event on April 15, county officials said more than 300 ducks were placed with rescues, ranchers and local families, and later said one adopter took nearly 300 birds under the department’s “barrier-free” adoption policy. The county said all 480 ducks were placed in under 24 hours because it could not shelter that many waterfowl long term. (kesq.com (kesq.com)) The department’s statement came after rescue groups and advocates questioned whether one person should have been allowed to take so many birds at once. The county responded by saying it does not cap adoptions by number alone and instead looks for immediate placement when shelter crowding limits care options. (kesq.com 1) (kesq.com 2)) That explanation fits a broader county strategy under Director Mary Martin, who said in May 2025 that Riverside County Animal Services was removing barriers to adoption, waiving some fees and expanding access as shelters tried to move animals out faster. The department also said in 2025 that its shelters had reached 220% capacity. (kesq.com 1) (kesq.com 2)) The ducks came from a property tied to Howard Berkowitz, founder of The Duck Sanctuary, who told KESQ on April 21 that he was overwhelmed, could not afford the operation and had given up about 500 ducks. Berkowitz denied being an animal hoarder and said he was shutting the sanctuary down. (kesq.com) Animal rescue advocate Sascha Knopf told KESQ she had spent two years warning animal control and code enforcement about conditions at Berkowitz’s properties. Berkowitz acknowledged “mistakes in the past” and said the scale of the sanctuary had outpaced his resources. (kesq.com) County officials said sample disease tests coordinated with the California Department of Food and Agriculture came back negative before the ducks were offered for adoption. The department also asked the public to report any suspected neglect or cruelty involving the adopted birds so investigators can follow up. (kesq.com) (kesq.com) For now, Riverside County is defending the mass adoption as an emergency placement decision, while critics are still asking whether speed came at the expense of screening. The next test is whether any new cruelty reports emerge from the homes and properties where the ducks were sent. (kesq.com) (kesq.com)