I'm a duck rescuer in Ohio - since the Springfield migrants 'eating pets' rumors started, my phone's been ringing off the hook

A duck rescuer who has spent nearly a decade saving and rehoming wild geese in Ohio has been inundated with calls from concerned Springfield residents amid allegations migrants are eating wild birds.

Lisa Montgomery was shocked when she discovered the 'unusual' amount of birds which have disappeared in the region, and now has 'serious concerns' that they're being 'murdered for food.'

Speaking to DailyMail.com, Lisa said the sheer number of birds disappearing of late has far exceeded past summers in the region.

She's been rescuing ducks and geese throughout Ohio for nearly 10 years, having owned and operated Mid Ohio Waterfowl Rescue since 2015.

'I have over the years had many people reach out from the Springfield area. Recently with concerns of ducks and geese being murdered for food,' she said.

'I do have serious concerns over the issue and believe it to be true.'

Lisa said the warmer months - May to July in particular - are when native birds like Canada geese and mallards are at their most vulnerable, because they're going through an annual molt.

Recently, she's been inundated by Springfield residents concerned about the mounting rumors that the animals are being stolen and killed by migrants.

Local police say they have no verified reports of such behavior. 

Springfield experienced a wave of legal Haitian migration in 2020 in a bid to revitalize the struggling local economy.

Willing to do the blue-collar jobs locals were unenthusiastic about, the Haitians, who were already in the country legally, moved to the town.

Within a few years, 20,000 immigrants arrived, swelling Springfield's population, which was only 58,000 in 2020. These people arrived with social security numbers and working permits, they've paid taxes and occupied previously boarded up, abandoned homes.

The rumor mill went into overdrive again following the Trump v Harris presidential debate on Tuesday night, when the former president addressed the allegations.

'In Springfield, they're eating the dogs. The people that came in, they're eating the cats,' Trump said. 'They're eating the pets of the people that live there.'

Lisa said she's had 'numerous people reach out to me about the situation wanting me to help the remaining birds that were recently dumped before their fate is the same as their cousins.'

'It is a very disturbing situation and even more disturbing ones are laughing and making jokes about it.'

Lisa also noted swathes of Ohio have a broader and more ongoing problem of people buying and then discarding domestic ducks in local parks. 

These ducks and geese have been domesticated and aren't equipped to survive in the wild on their own. 'It is an ongoing issue allover the US, and I would assume other countries as well,' she said. 

While there has been an increase in disappearing birds based on Lisa's experience, she said this does not necessarily always mean they're being stolen and murdered.

She said initially she'd expected that this phenomenon would be a result of predators in the area.

But upon further consideration, Lisa said the timing doesn't stack up. 

'Predation is also a real thing but not at the rate birds have disappeared,' she said. 

'Predation tends to happen more in the winter months. When the ponds freeze and the birds don’t have protection.'

Last month, a Springfield local claimed during a city commission meeting that Haitian migrants were decapitating ducks in public parks and eating them.

He said: 'They're in the park, grabbing up ducks by their neck, and cutting their head off and walking off with them. They're eating them.' 

The City of Springfield told DailyMail.com in a statement on Monday: 'We wish to clarify that there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.'