Crews in Winnipeg hunt for rubber ducks after mishap during fundraising race

WINNIPEG – City crews in Winnipeg are continuing to capture thousands of rubber ducks that slipped past a containment boom during a weekend fundraising race.

The Assiniboine Park Conservancy says over 13,000 rubber ducks were dropped from a crane into the Assiniboine River on Saturday for The Great Manitoba Duck Race.

The race was meant to raise money for the conservancy as well as the Assiniboine Park Zoo.

But at the end of the race, the conservancy says the oil booms used to capture the ducks failed.

It says a significant portion of the ducks went through the barrier and downstream.

The conservancy says in a news release that Manitoba Conservation has been informed of the incident, and that officials responded that the ducks don’t pose an environmental threat.

The conservancy is asking people who spot pockets of rubber ducks to call them, and not risk their own safety by retrieving them on their own.