Weird cases: therapy ducks not mere quackery

In most social situations it is not an offence to be caught in possession of therapy ducks. In Ohio, however, Darin Welker was recently charged with violating a local law by virtue of the 14 clinically recommended ducks he keeps in his back yard to help him with his post-traumatic stress disorder. The case is under the jurisdiction of Coshocton municipal court.

Mr Welker, from the village of West Lafayette, was wounded in action in Iraq in 2005. He suffered a back injury and shock. In 2012, the US Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) paid for surgery to Mr Welker’s back but it did not pay for any physical or mental therapy.

The veteran acquired the 14 ducks – 10 pekins and four mallards -