Foster Duckling Program disaster

[Catherine]

There is a farm in Ontario that will let people pay to foster a duckling for a few months. They usually are fostered as pairs and they come with food and instructions.
During the pandemic having ducklings in the house has been wonderfully entertaining for people. After 3 months the ducklings go back to the farm.

What could go wrong?

People found out that the ducklings they had loved and played with for months were going back to the farm to end up as food. They would be sold as duck meat.
The people who fostered the ducklings had not realized that this would happen. Those who found out have been trying to place the ducklings in farm sanctuaries where they can live out their lives. The sanctuaries have  limited room and there are many fostered ducklings.  Most city bylaws will not allow the ducks to remain with the people in the city.

There are a lot of very upset people and upset children who made pets of the ducklings.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/fo...-1.5636950

This is what happens when people don't think things through. People  are willing to eat meat, but they are not realistic about where it comes from.
Meat comes from live animals. You see duck for sale in the grocery store. That duck was once a baby duck like the one you fostered.
Where did they think the  baby ducks they fostered would end up?

Did the farm not think about how people would feel if they made pets of ducks and then the ducks where killed for food? 
They were fostering them to city people with no farm experience. It wasn't going to end well.

The sanctuaries are doing what they can, but they were not warned that there would be a large number of ducks needing sanctuary.

It seems cruel to raise the ducks pets and have them trust people and them turn around and kill them for their meat. In every way this idea was destined to not end well for everyone involved, especially the ducks.