Canterbury police Constable Harriet Carey rescued Daisy the duck from a savage beating at a pond in Halswell Domain in Christchurch earlier this month. She released her back into the pond to Wednesday.

Daisy the duck's feathered friends have greeted her as she returned to a Christchurch lake nearly three weeks after being brutally bashed by a piece of wood.

Police were called to Halswell Domain on William Brittan Ave in Halswell on October 5 to find an elderly man bashing a duck. The duck, since named Daisy, was rescued by Constable Harriet Carey. She had bruising and abrasions to her dorsum and right wing.

Volunteers from the Christchurch Animal and Bird Hospital on Ferry Rd in Waltham spent 20 days nursing her back to health.

CANTERBURY POLICE Ducks, including two who had helped Daisy after the beating, waited for her at the pond.

"[Her] neck was bent at a funny angle and it was struggling to stay afloat. It was being supported by two other ducks that were using their beaks to stop [her] from drowning – I have never seen anything like it," Carey said at the time.

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Daisy was weak and wobbly on both legs and suffered neurological damage. It was a "slow road to recovery" as the bird had suffered a concussion and was unable to eat, a post on the vet's Facebook page said.

CANTERBURY POLICE Carey and Daisy on the day of the rescue.

Carey, and one of Daisy's carers, released her back to the pond where she was found on Wednesday.

"Her two mates that were trying to help her on the day heard her quacks and were waiting eagerly at the pond's edge for her and they swam off together. It was pretty cute," Carey said.

"Canterbury Police and I would like to pass on our sincere thanks to the Animal and Bird Hospital and their volunteers.

"They've done a fantastic job of looking after injured Daisy. Her future would not have been quite so bright if it wasn't for them."

The offender, who was understood to be a member of The Canterbury Society of Model and Experimental Engineers (CSMEE), was charged with cruel ill treatment of an animal.

CSMEE president John Howie defended the club member who allegedly bashed the duck, but the club's vice president Alex Cowdell later said the man was "no longer associated in any way" with the club.

The man was due to appear in court in Christchurch.