Fire Department Nabs PETA Award for Saving Duck From Icy Lake

Firefighter in Ice Rescue Suit Retrieves Injured Bird—Who’s Now Safe and Sound in His New Home

For Immediate Release:
December 19, 2019

Contact:
Megan Witsie 202-483-7382

A Compassionate Fire Department Award is on its way from PETA to the Council Bluffs Fire Department, which rushed to the rescue of an injured duck who was stuck on the ice on partially frozen Lake Manawa on December 10. Firefighter Matt Krzycki put on an ice rescue suit, waded into the water, and carried the duck back to shore. After a few days of recovering at the Midlands Humane Society, he was placed in a new home, where he will live out the rest of his days.

“Whether it’s a cat in a tree, a duck in water, or a house fire, we’ll try to take care of it,” Krzycki said in a statement.

“When these firefighters heard that a duck was in trouble, they didn’t hesitate to send someone into the freezing water to save him,” says PETA Vice President Colleen O’Brien. “PETA hopes their kindness will inspire everyone to look out for animals in need, especially during the dangerous winter months.”

The Council Bluffs Fire Department will receive a framed certificate, a box of delicious vegan cookies, a letter of congratulations, and a copy of The Engine 2 Diet—a Texas firefighter’s 28-day plan for staying in prime firefighting shape by eating vegan meals.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.