So my neighbor raises ducks and sells their eggs. This morning when I was leaving for work, one of his ducks ran onto my property and right under my truck. Unfortunately, the duck didn’t make it. My neighbor was understandably upset but it was an accident and his duck came in my yard.
He starts telling me how expensive the duck was and that I should have to pay for the duck ($200). I felt bad about the whole situation and gave him the money I had in my wallet ($140). I told him I would stop by the ATM on my way home from work and get the other $60.
He agrees and takes the money. I pick up the duck and start to take it to my garage refrigerator. My neighbor is like WTF are you doing? I said, well I’m going to eat it when I get home tonight. He starts to freak out saying I can’t do that. He tells me it’s his kids’ pet and they are going to bury it in their yard.
I said, if I’m paying $200 for a duck… you better believe I’m gonna eat it. So do you want the money or the duck? He said he wants both. I just left it in the fridge, put the garage door down and went to work.
Am I the asshole? I don’t think I am since I didn’t legally have to pay for the duck that came on my property. I only paid for it to be nice.
YTA lmao.
How are you gonna kill his duck and take it too?
You arent paying to have it, your paying to compensate him for killing his livestock.
*Edit: It’s a fucking duck. Whether it trespassed or not is immaterial. All kinds of animals trespass, doesn’t mean you get to keep it when you run it over. 200 is only a lot if you aren’t considering lost wages*
Don’t want your livestock run over, keep it on your property.
His duck trespassed – likely due to negligence of not securing a cage/gate whatever.
The livestock he accidentally killed when it wandered onto his property.
The duck owner should keep the ducks safe.
This is the funniest AITA I’ve seen on this sub in a while.
I would not have paid for the duck.
It’s a shame but it should not have been on your property. That said you paid so fair enough.
NTA
If this was a dog you had run over would you be asking us this? You hit your neighbors pet with your car. Of course he wants you to pay him damages lol. YTA
If his ducks are that valuable, he should be keeping them from running loose onto other people’s property. And if you hit a dog that’s running loose and damage your car, the dog owner can be held liable for the damages to your car.
I’ve actually never heard of someone paying for a pet they hit with their car. Of course, never heard of them eating it either.
I don’t think you are the a hole but I highly doubt the duck was 200$ to begin with
NTA, the duck was on your property. If they cared about it they would keep it home.
Info How do you run over a duck with your truck and still have edible meat? Do you also scrape up road kill? Aren’t you worried about the flattened and burst guts contaminating the meat you are going to put into your body?
ESH this is hilarious if true but he’s an AH for asking for money when he lets them free range. Them dying is part of the deal with free range animals. You’re an AH if its the kids pet and you keep it lol
You can’t claim both the productive value of an animal as livestock and the emotional value of the animal as a pet.
It’s very normal in tort law for damages of livestock that the one who does the damage pays the full value of the undamaged animal, but keeps the carcass. Or that a damaged animal is sold, and the one who did the damage pays the difference between the sale price and full value.
If this was a pet, the calculation would be different and the valuation of the animal would be different.
Overall, I think it’s a toss-up. I probably would have let them take the duck, but wouldn’t paid them at all for it.