Ducks face discrimination in the City of Polson, and Johnny Lapotka aims to change that. The 10-year-old resident of Ward 2 told Polson City commissioners that ducks – which aren’t permitted under the existing chicken ordinance – are superior to chickens in many ways.

“Ducks are similar in size and behavior to chickens, which are allowed. Duck eggs are healthier than chicken eggs, they make less noise, and are more docile than chickens. Ducks are small and manageable pets,” he said while enumerating their virtues at a recent public meeting.

The existing ordinance, passed four years ago, bans “hogs, cattle, sheep, swine, goats, turkeys, ducks, geese, or other domestic animals or fowl excepting household pets and excepting chickens kept in accordance with this code.”

If Lapotka can convince commissioners to tweak the ordinance in his favor, he plans to acquire two call ducks as pets and name them Peanut and Waddles.

“I have always liked ducks and my mom had a pet duck as a kid. That is what sparked my interest in trying to have a duck,” he said, reading from a prepared statement kept in his duck folder and adorned with a drawing of a duck and the word “quack.”  

“Having pet ducks would be my first big responsibility,” he said. And more importantly, he argued that ducks have the potential to “make the community a better place” by providing pest control, eggs “and environmentally friendly fertilizer.”

He urged the commission to place the matter on the agenda at a future meeting.

At least one commissioner, Carolyn Pardini, seemed sympathetic to his cause. Later in the meeting, she suggested taking another look at the permitting requirements of the chicken ordinance, which requires chicken owners to pay for a $100 permit annually.

“Right now, it costs more to have chickens than it does to have an intact male dog in Polson,” she said. “Maybe we could revisit it when we consider adding ducks to the ordinance and see if we can't make it a little more friendly.”