COSHOCTON, Ohio – A veteran who was cited for keeping farm animals within village limits was found guilty Wednesday in Coshocton County Municipal Court.
Darin Welker, 36, of West Lafayette was fined $50 for violating an ordinance that prohibits him from keeping ducks within city limits. He said the ducks help him cope with post traumatic stress disorder and depression after he served a year in Iraq in 2005.
But, as prosecuting attorney James Skelton argued in court, this case was cut and dry. The relevant ordinance, Skelton told Judge Timothy France, clearly states that no farm animals, including ducks, may be kept within village limits, and no federal law exists that trumps it.
"The ordinance says there are no ducks, then there are no ducks," Skelton said, addressing France. "Your hands are tied."
Welker was cited for the minor misdemeanor in June for keeping 14 ducks in the backyard at his home on Grandview Street in West Lafayette. Since then, the case has developed into a clash between local government officials trying to maintain the letter of the law, and an Army veteran trying to heal from mental wounds.
Welker has given away eight of the ducks within the past couple of weeks, but he still has six that he keeps in a fenced-off portion of his yard, he testified in court Wednesday. He got them as ducklings in March and has raised them and spent time giving them love and attention.
"They've been in the house, they sit on the recliner, they've been on the mower," he said in court. "They just love to be held."
