Alternative religion types help me out..

I work in a small amusement park, for the last 3 weeks we have been finding ducks decapitated and the heart was apparently removed, head also not found.
It has happened the last 3 wednesdays, 3 ducks were killed, and the bodies placed facing each other in a pattern like they were sitting on the points of an eqilateral triangle (or 120 degrees apart on the edge of a circle). However one single duck was killed last night same way.

Is there any kind of ritualistic or spell component significance for this or do we just have a nutcase wandering our park late at night.

I ask because our management is planning on having some armed all nighters. If there is a way to predict this event then we can bring in police and hopefully nab our duck slayers legally without anyone getting hurt.

Help me dopers you’re my only hope…

Let’s see, there is that one love spell that involves the removal of a decapitated duck’s heart and placing the corpses in a triangular pattern…ooops! No, sorry, that only works at rodeos, not amusement parks. Wrong one.

Hmmm…nope, outside my religious expertise. Anyone?

If it’s really the work of people who have a cult of some sort, I’d imagine the upcoming vernal equinox, March 20th, would be a significant date.

If it’s some particularly nasty people who want to make the mutiliation of ducks look “witchy,” they probably don’t have any schedule for these “rituals”. Might I suggest your management look into some surveillance cameras before bringing in the SWAT team?

Those guys won’t be afraid of guns. They’ll duck! (sorry, couldn’t resist)

Thank you for your prompt reply.

Unfortunately the area in question is out in a large grassy picnic area (a few acres worth) that is closed after dark due to lack of lighting, it would be a major project to arrange proper surveillance cameras in time to preserve our duck population, even then due to low light, we might not be able to get a good picture. One of the owners has some kind of thermal imaging and or night vision gear that they are planning to use to hopefully assist in intercepting these tresspassers.

I cannot stress enough, please, if anyone knows anything about stuff like this please let me know. I informed our night shift manager today I would ask around on the net and see if I can come up with something. If there is a way to predict this and or stop it peacefully via legal means I want to know. The owners of the park are not interested in passive approaches, they want somebody in jail, even if it means risking an armed confronation.

I can’t imagine there being a religious significance to this. The only pagan religion that commonly practices animal sacrifice is Santeria, that I know of, and they’re no more likely to go out and mutilate animals that are other people’s property than a Christian congregation is likely to go steal a loaf of bread for Communion.

You’re probably looking at pseudo-satanists or teenagers doing a stupid teenager messing-around-with-the-occult-to-rebel thing. Or a very selective cat.

Good point on the equinox, aseymayo.

My bet’s on a group of pseudo-teens performing a made up anti-Easter/anti-Spring “ritual”. Ducks are a little easier to catch than rabbits.

Are these ducks that are regularly part of the grounds or are they bringing the ducks in?

On a more disgusting note, are the hearts and heads removed cleanly and precisely or are they just hacked open?

Ducks are a regual part of the grounds we had about 40-45, they are down to 30 something.

Heads removed cleanly, feathers plucked in a relatively neat circle for about 2 inches around the hole where the neck used to attach.

I believe Santeria practitioners only sacrifice animals during full moons.

You’ve already reported this to animal control I hope? People who mutilate animals sometimes graduate to mutilating people.

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by aseymayo *
**If it’s really the work of people who have a cult of some sort, I’d imagine the upcoming vernal equinox, March 20th, would be a significant date.

ok that would be tuesday? Next question isnt the moon on a 28 day cycle? could the duck slayings be coordinating with moon phases?

last night was a full moon

duh reading chart wrong, it was last quarter

Ok, the heads are cleanly removed–not really that difficult to do. How about where the hearts are removed?

Also relatively neat I will attept to get some digital photographs of one of the ducks to post.

I doubt that this is a religious practice. Groups that worship on a lunar calendar take the dates as seriously as solar calendar events. Passover and Easter are tied to lunar calendars too, and Jews and Christians celebrate them on specific days each year.

Do the police, Animal Control, and the Humane Society know what is happening? They can help more than this board can.

this ritual is similar to the ancient druids who sacrifice
animals as part of their offering to the gods and warding off evil spirits. Frequently they removed the head and heart of the animal, and place it in an astrological fashion.
Where the animals parts in relationship to sunrise or moonrise or other astrological signs?
I believe the people see you as an evil entity attracting
demonic affluence into the area. This type of ritual is a warning, so be careful, it is unknown that this group is
prone to violence or is just using psychic methods to scare you away from the area.

Very rich demons? Are they going to move their soul-transfer-and-processing businesses into the region? Would this be good for the local economy or bad for the local morality?

The Evil Wealthy: Friend or Foe?

on the next 20/20.

can you bring in the ducks at night that is what most farmers around here do?

How many times have I told you? If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times: You are evil and must be destroyed. But at least you are attracting affluent demons.
Wait.
You don’t own the park.
Oh, well.
I’ll just use psychic methods.
Wait.
I don’t know what those are.
Never mind.

Once again thank you for the reply this has been very helpful in convincing park management to bring in animal control. I think the idea of a nutcase mutilating animals all over not just here worried them a bit.

Sunday morning we found a head from a duck and a bunch of feathers but no body. We are not sure if they killed another one or this was a head from one of the previous killings, and it wasnt there as of 4am sunday morning but it was there at about 930am sunday