September 12, 2007

Reward money for Campbell duck killer given to animal welfare groups

Nearly $18,000 in reward money offered for the capture of a Campbell car wash duck killer is now in the hands of several animal welfare organizations, according to Mike Davis, manager of the Delta Queen Car Wash.

The duck killer case generated national attention when a man driving a red Acura Integra with personalized license plates drove into the Delta Queen Classic Car Wash on East Hamilton Ave. after midnight on Aug. 5, 2005, and began running over ducks with his car.

The incident was captured on videotape and at one point the man was seen getting out of his car, chasing the ducks and throwing them. San Jose Police said the grainy video is not clear enough to identify the man and the license plate number on the car.

Car wash managers arrived at work the morning after the incident to find the mangled dead bodies of 10 ducks and another that later died from its injuries.

When people began to hear of the incident, they began sending donations to the car wash from across the country. The money was to be used as reward money for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the alleged duck killer. However, the man was never identified. Davis said he still hopeful that someone will eventually turn in the person responsible for the animal cruelty.

Delta Queen Car Wash managers have decided to distribute the funds to animal welfare organizations where they can be put to good use including: Central Animal Hospital's Angel Fund, Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley, Wildlife Rescue of Palo Alto and American Bird Conservancy.