A 71-year-old Irvine man was charged Thursday with felony animal cruelty in the death of a duckling that was taken from a community pool and beaten with a plastic recycling bin in front of witnesses.
Another duckling was seriously injured in the May 13 attack at the pool near the intersection of Morena and Segura, where several people were trying to help a Mallard duck mother and her 10 ducklings out of the pool area.
Randall Lee Bertsch yelled at the ducks, then grabbed several out of the water and placed them in a small box, according to Orange County prosecutors. Video showed Bertsch use a blue recycling bin to beat the ducklings trapped inside the box, prosecutors said…