Hundreds of American Pekin ducks are being sold at a central Mexico City market due to the popularity of the duck Merlín linked to the 2026 World Cup.
Street vendors unload boxes of ducklings in front of a pet market in the Venustiano Carranza borough. Sales exceed one hundred birds and prices range from 30 to 50 pesos each.
Experts warn of a legal gap that leaves these birds without protection as companion animals. Veterinarian Jorge Monroy López noted that PROFEPA does not classify them as wild fauna and treats them as production animals.
Animal activist Alejandra Loera Valencia fears many ducks will be abandoned after the tournament in canals or the Pedregal de San Ángel Ecological Reserve. Mexico has nearly 30 million abandoned animals.
