NEW YORK (Reuters) - A pet duck named Circles, shot and wounded by a neighbour with a pellet gun, has received an order of protection to keep it safe, the first duck in New York state's Suffolk County to benefit from such an order.



Circles was in its owner's backyard on Long Island -- long known as a habitat for wild waterfowl -- when it was shot by a neighbour through the neck, said Michelle Auletta, prosecutor at the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office.

Circles, a white, yellow-billed duck, was treated by a vet and survived, she said.

The neighbour was charged with animal cruelty. At the attacker's arraignment on Thursday, Circles' owners received an order of protection.

"It's the first case that I know of in this area where a duck got an order of protection," Auletta said. "And in Suffolk County, Long Island, it is the first case where an animal was included in an order of protection that was not a domestic violence case."

In 2006, former New York Governor George Pataki signed into law a provision to include pets in orders of protection.