Irvine Man Charged with Felony Animal Cruelty for Beating Mallard Duckling to Death, Seriously Injuring a Second Duckling Mother and eight other ducklings managed to escape[...]

Irvine Man Charged with Felony Animal Cruelty for Beating Mallard Duckling
to Death, Seriously Injuring a Second Duckling
Mother and eight other ducklings managed to escape being injured in the attack; defendant is wanted on a $50,000 arrest warrant.

SANTA ANA - A 71-year-old Irvine man has been charged with felony animal cruelty and attempted animal cruelty for beating a duckling to death and seriously injuring another duckling after grabbing the ducklings out of a community pool and using a plastic recycling bin to smash the ducklings. Eight other ducklings and their mother appeared to have escaped injury in the videotaped attack.

Randall Lee Bertsch, 71, of Irvine, has been charged with two felony counts of animal cruelty, three felony counts of attempted animal cruelty, one misdemeanor count of harassment of animals, and five felony enhancements of the personal use of a weapon, a trash bin. He faces a maximum sentence of seven years and six months in the Orange County Jail if convicted on all counts.

On May 13, 2026, Bertsch was swimming in a community pool near the intersection of Morena and Segura in the city of Irvine while several other residents were attempting to usher a Mallard mother duck and her 10 ducklings out of the community pool area.

Bertsch is accused of yelling at the ducks and then grabbing several of the ducks out of the pool and putting them into a small box. Bertsch is seen on video using a blue recycling trash can to beat the ducklings trapped inside the box before throwing the ducklings in the trash. Bertsch is seen hurling the trash bin at the mother duck and other ducklings as they tried to escape.

Bertsch was arrested at his home by the Irvine Police Department and was released after posting $20,000 bail. He is now wanted on a $50,000 arrest warrant after a judge approved a request from prosecutors with the Orange County District Attorney' Office asked for increased bail due to the violence inflicted on the ducklings in an attempt to kill as many as he could.

Migratory birds, including ducks, are federally protected and cannot be moved or relocated.

"These are gentle creatures who were no threat to anyone or anything and no one will be allowed to inflict such intentional violence on helpless baby animals," said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. "The Orange County District Attorney's Office refuses to tolerate the abuse of animals, and anyone who engages in violence against animals will be prosecuted with the full weight of the law."

Deputy District Attorney Danica Drotman of the Animal Cruelty Unit is prosecuting this case.

Click here for full press release.