A petting farm owner has been left ‘heartbroken’ after six ducklings were stolen by burglars in an early morning raid.
Suzie Wright, 41, said the baby mallards, which are just three to four weeks old, had been snatched from her Little Haven Farm at around 2am on Sunday (June 9).
She said the intruders broke in through a side gate of the estate in Hedon, Hull, and scooped up the golden-coloured Cherry Valley ducks from an outdoor pen.
They were then “scared off” by her family's pet Labrador Penny - with police now appealing for anyone with information of the incident to come forward.
Devastated Suzie hoped those responsible for taking the birds, which she had rescued, did not have any “sinister” ambitions and would return them.
She said: “It’s heartbreaking, and it's worrying for us about the safety of the animals that we still have.
“You don’t want someone to come onto your property without permission, you don’t want them to come and help themselves to your animals.
“Then you’ve got the worry of what’s going to happen to those animals now they are gone and why they have been taken.
“We’re hoping that someone has taken them selfishly because they want some ducks of their own to have at their house - and not for more sinister reasons."
Suzie, who has dozens of rescue animals at her petting farm - including reindeer, goats and rabbits - said those who snatched the ducks avoided the CCTV cameras.
And she believes they must have known where they were being kept as the birds had been moved just days early.
She said: “We’d only just moved them to their outdoor enclosure with some water to get them accustomed to being in a pond.
“So whoever has stolen them must have known where they were at that point and planned to come and take them the way they did.
"They’ve broken in through our side gate entrance and then opened up the pens.
"We have absolutely no idea who they are. Our dog disturbed them, we believe. She scared them off. But they had managed to take the ducklings.”
She added: "There had been quite a lot of interest in them... People were able to stroke them."
Suzie said the farm was now on ‘high alert’ in case the burglars attempted to take more of the animals.
She said: “It’s an invasion of privacy, so it’s disconcerting across the board.
“Now we’re on high alert making sure nobody comes back to try and take anything else.”
A spokesperson from Humberside Police said their investigations into the incident were ongoing.
They said: “Enquiries are underway after six ducklings were reportedly stolen in a burglary at a farm on Havenside in Hedon.
"The burglary took place at around 2am on Sunday 9 June when someone allegedly broke into the farm and took the ducklings from inside the grounds.
"Anyone with any information about the burglary or the whereabouts of the ducklings is asked to call our non-emergency 101 line quoting crime reference 24*80063.”
Suzie Wright, 41, said the baby mallards, which are just three to four weeks old, had been snatched from her Little Haven Farm at around 2am on Sunday (June 9).
She said the intruders broke in through a side gate of the estate in Hedon, Hull, and scooped up the golden-coloured Cherry Valley ducks from an outdoor pen.
They were then “scared off” by her family's pet Labrador Penny - with police now appealing for anyone with information of the incident to come forward.
Devastated Suzie hoped those responsible for taking the birds, which she had rescued, did not have any “sinister” ambitions and would return them.
She said: “It’s heartbreaking, and it's worrying for us about the safety of the animals that we still have.
“You don’t want someone to come onto your property without permission, you don’t want them to come and help themselves to your animals.
“Then you’ve got the worry of what’s going to happen to those animals now they are gone and why they have been taken.
“We’re hoping that someone has taken them selfishly because they want some ducks of their own to have at their house - and not for more sinister reasons."
Suzie, who has dozens of rescue animals at her petting farm - including reindeer, goats and rabbits - said those who snatched the ducks avoided the CCTV cameras.
And she believes they must have known where they were being kept as the birds had been moved just days early.
She said: “We’d only just moved them to their outdoor enclosure with some water to get them accustomed to being in a pond.
“So whoever has stolen them must have known where they were at that point and planned to come and take them the way they did.
"They’ve broken in through our side gate entrance and then opened up the pens.
"We have absolutely no idea who they are. Our dog disturbed them, we believe. She scared them off. But they had managed to take the ducklings.”
She added: "There had been quite a lot of interest in them... People were able to stroke them."
Suzie said the farm was now on ‘high alert’ in case the burglars attempted to take more of the animals.
She said: “It’s an invasion of privacy, so it’s disconcerting across the board.
“Now we’re on high alert making sure nobody comes back to try and take anything else.”
A spokesperson from Humberside Police said their investigations into the incident were ongoing.
They said: “Enquiries are underway after six ducklings were reportedly stolen in a burglary at a farm on Havenside in Hedon.
"The burglary took place at around 2am on Sunday 9 June when someone allegedly broke into the farm and took the ducklings from inside the grounds.
"Anyone with any information about the burglary or the whereabouts of the ducklings is asked to call our non-emergency 101 line quoting crime reference 24*80063.”
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FunTranscript
00:00 Say hello. Look at these little cuties, they're so beautiful.
00:10 [birds chirping]
00:24 [birds chirping]
00:34 [birds chirping]