This Riverside County man is on a mission to save California’s abandoned ducks

A warehouse in Orange County had received a late order of balut, a Southeast Asian delicacy of fertilized duck eggs, but now the warehouse had a crisis on its hands: Hundreds of the eggs were hatching. “If something ever happens to me,” Berkowitz said, “I have a half a million dollar life insurance policy the duck sanctuary.” Why does he care so deeply about the plight of these waterfowl? “We’ve had animal control called on us several times,” Berkowitz said. “If we have ducks in here, we don’t let him take them.” Every day Berkowitz feeds his birds 250 pounds of food, costing him $170 daily. “The dream is to have a functioning sanctuary that also has an educational center, where young people can learn about how to respect and treat animals,” said the Duck Pond’s Chief Financial Officer, Tylor Taylor.