The ruddy, condemned to die because of its sexual prowess, is costing the taxpayer £1,000 a bird to exterminate. The Department of Environment has been carrying out a cull of the frisky birds in order to stop them flying south to mate with an endangered Spanish white-headed duck.
But next week officials will be forced to admit the remarkable cost of the venture. The elusive ruddy is proving anything but a sitting duck - marksmen hired to shoot it on its nest have only managed to kill 800 in a year, when the target was 4,000. The cost so far is £840,000.
The first batch of sharpshooters hired to destroy the females and thus reduce the population baulked at killing them while they were protecting their eggs.
When the killing finally got going last year after a tougher breed of hunters was hired by the department, the ducks often proved too quick off the mark. They were reported diving under water and swimming into the reeds.
The department last night said: "We have two more years at this experiment. It is too early to say its a failure."
Culling has begun again this year with marksmen looking for birds to shoot on their nests. Some organisations, notably the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, support the killing, but many wildlife groups protest.
Ursula Bates, of Solihull Animal Aid, said: "The Spanish argue they don't want to mix the species but what does it matter whether a duck has a white head or not? The ducks look almost the same, other than that. Who are we to play God?"
Ruddy ducks originate from North America. They were brought to Europe by Sir Peter Scott, who founded the Slimbridge Wildlife Trust in Gloucestershire.
Some escaped from an enclosure and have since been breeding in Britain and elsewhere in Europe.
The RSPB believes the ruddy ducks have brought the white headed duck to the brink of extinction "because ruddy ducks fly out to Spain and compete with the males. They are very vigorous and successful in the mating game. We certainly do not enjoy the idea of a cull, but if the only option available is an unpleasant one, it should still be carried out."
