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It's a seemingly innocent pastime. But experts warn that feeding ducks bread is not just bad for the bird's health - it can damage entire ecosystems, says Justin Parkinson.
Throwing crumbs of stale bread in a pond or river is a ritual of family days out dating back to at least the 19th Century. Ducks vie with geese, swans, moorhens, sometimes gulls, for their fill.
It's long been recognised that a bread-rich diet - particularly processed white bread - can cause wildfowl to become ill and, in some cases, deformed. Now conservationists are warning that undigested bread sinking and rotting can create wider havoc.
The Canal and River Trust says that it can encourage bacteria and algae which can poison other species as well as attracting vermin.
Rotting bread exacerbates naturally occurring surface algae - which can give off toxins damaging to fish populations and create a stench for humans - by releasing more nitrates and phosphates. It also denies sunlight to underwater plants. And the bread eaten by birds creates more faeces, which has the same effect.
The nutrients can also encourage filamentous algae, which grow upwards from the bottom in chains or threads. The algae can slow down river flows, further deadening the environment.
"Of course, bread's not the only thing that causes the problem," says Richard Bennett, an environment manager at the Canal and River Trust. "It wouldn't matter if you fed ducks in a clear, nutrient-free environment like an upland stream, but people are more likely to do it in towns and cities."
Decomposing bread creates bacteria and attracts vermin, especially rats, whose urine transmits Weil's disease, which can be deadly to people.
Wet and rotting bread can be a home for a mould called aspergillus, which can get into ducks' lungs, killing them.
Throwing crumbs of stale bread in a pond or river is a ritual of family days out dating back to at least the 19th Century. Ducks vie with geese, swans, moorhens, sometimes gulls, for their fill.
It's long been recognised that a bread-rich diet - particularly processed white bread - can cause wildfowl to become ill and, in some cases, deformed. Now conservationists are warning that undigested bread sinking and rotting can create wider havoc.
The Canal and River Trust says that it can encourage bacteria and algae which can poison other species as well as attracting vermin.
Rotting bread exacerbates naturally occurring surface algae - which can give off toxins damaging to fish populations and create a stench for humans - by releasing more nitrates and phosphates. It also denies sunlight to underwater plants. And the bread eaten by birds creates more faeces, which has the same effect.
The nutrients can also encourage filamentous algae, which grow upwards from the bottom in chains or threads. The algae can slow down river flows, further deadening the environment.
"Of course, bread's not the only thing that causes the problem," says Richard Bennett, an environment manager at the Canal and River Trust. "It wouldn't matter if you fed ducks in a clear, nutrient-free environment like an upland stream, but people are more likely to do it in towns and cities."
Decomposing bread creates bacteria and attracts vermin, especially rats, whose urine transmits Weil's disease, which can be deadly to people.
Wet and rotting bread can be a home for a mould called aspergillus, which can get into ducks' lungs, killing them.
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I LISTENED TO YOU ,AND IVE NEVER FED THEM BREAD SINCE ,I EVEN SPREAD THE MESSAGE
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Get a room
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Well done mate, apparently peas and grapes are good. Just been on the local TV news.
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I feed birds grapes and cheese ,they love them
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EVEN THOUGH THE DUCKS QUACK AT ME ,WHEN THEY SEE ME EATING MY JAM BUTTIES I TURN THE OTHER WAY AND PRETEND IVE NOT HERD THEM
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I feed pigeons nuts, despite the disapproving looks.Far more undesirables in Bradford than pigeons.
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Best of luck to Bradford tonight kenny mann.
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A sign of the times that ducks are turning their beaks up at their handouts.
They'll be wanting brioche next. |
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Thanks Slippy, need a gigantic slice now.
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grape fed duck sounds delicious
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It was the worst possible start imaginable, your lot need a miracle now.
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It's the same as feeding birds bread.
They told us it gives them heart disease. So we should buy bird food instead and feed them that. Bird food that they just happened to manufacture. You can bet your life that someone behind that report in the opener produces food for ducks that won't damage the environment. I think that would be a pretty safe bet. |
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We can concentrate on the league now.
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Need to draw attention of this to the guy whose wife stays out all night, and then says she was feeding the ducks!
Additionally, don't feed bread, or milk, to birds and hedgehogs. |