Gas Station Worker Spots Moving Trash Bag, Makes Disturbing Discovery

Seeing something moving inside a trash bag must be a disturbing experience. But the result of said discovery isn’t always something out of a horror movie.

This is what a gas station employee in New South Wales, Australia, learned when he noticed something inside a tied-up black plastic garbage bag outside of his station last week.

According to The Dodo, the employee opened up the bag right away and found a Muscovy, which is a species of duck, wriggling around.

The employee acted fast, calling nearby Tweed Valley Wildlife Carers for help. The carers arrived on scene shortly afterwards and transported the duck — which did not have any broken bones but was severely dehydrated, emaciated, malnourished, and had several damaged feathers — to The Owl & The PussyCat Farm Animal Sanctuary.

Security camera footage later showed that a man simply rode up to the gas station and tossed the trash bag into the garbage, then drove away.

The duck was then named Sweetpea and received all the care it needed to be nursed back to health. Workers at The Owl & The PussyCat Farm Animal Sanctuary even noted that the duck is beginning to show a feisty side, now that it is feeling better.

None of this would have been possible if that gas station employee decided he didn’t want to know what was moving around inside that trash bag.

And Sweetpea the duck will forever be in his debt for that.

Related: Illinois Fraternity Gives Away 200 Free Turkeys in Less Than an Hour

This story was originally published by Parade on Nov 14, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.