Geraldine the 'bullied' blind duck gets a new home where she won't get attacked again
A blind duck named Geraldine by locals has been rescued and rehomed by an animal charity after being bullied by other ducks and wildfowl.
The bird was rescued from Whitburn Pond after locals raised concerns about her wellbeing after seeing Geraldine being attacked a pecked by other birds.
Geraldine, who has now been diagnosed as having cataracts, was rescued and taken to animal charity Pawz for Thought in Sunderland on Sunday (December 1) by a worried resident.
Charity founder Lynne Ebdale said: “I got a phone call about a week ago from a lady who was very concerned because the duck was going blind, and they’d been feeding it for years on the pond.
“They’d noticed she was going downhill because her feathers were getting a bit tatty and torn, and she was obviously going blind.”
The charity provides temporary accommodation for animals looking to be adopted and within an hour of her arrival Geraldine had been found a new home.
The adopters, who asked not to be named, said: “Geraldine is now in a home where her every need will be met. Her food will be where she can find it, she will have no competition from other birds and won’t be bullied or pecked at again”.
They have also arranged for a vet to treat her cataracts.
Lynne said: “Just 20 minutes after Geraldine arrived two of our volunteers called in and adopted her.
“We haven’t got facilities here where she would have been very comfortable because we’ve got short-term pens.
“It’s so busy here we cannot give her the cost of care that she needs. She needs to be able to find her food.
“She always needs to be warm and dry and she needs to be safe from other animals, because other animals may target her eyes.”