The Hungarian Ornithological and Conservation Association (MME) urges those staying near the water’s edge not to feed the waterfowl, because it puts the animals in danger, makes them sick and even condemns them to death in large numbers.
Based on experience, people with basically good intentions are not aware that feeding waterfowl is unnecessary, especially in the summer when they can find unlimited food for themselves. Moreover, feeding them puts animals in danger and makes them sick en masse, which the authorities and nature conservation organizations are fighting against worldwide.
As it is written, the association, therefore, asks people walking by the water, beachgoers, hikers, and vacationers not to feed the waterfowl anywhere, with anything, from automatic duck feeders.
According to the information, the lifestyle and survival rules of waterfowl are fundamentally different from those of songbirds that visit classic winter feeders, and therefore, unlike them, their feeding is harmful for several reasons, because, for example, long-term, one-sided bread and other worthless “food” can cause angel wing disease in birds; it also pollutes the environment, deteriorates the quality of water, increases the load of organic matter in waters and the resulting swamping.
The abundance of food scattered unnecessarily also attracts rats and helps them reproduce, which is a particularly big problem in the capital this year, the announcement emphasizes.
Feeding waterfowl is a self-perpetuating spiral of problems. The birds fed in the summer do not migrate in the fall, so people, seeing a bird that they thought was hungry, was actually uncomfortable or already sick and unable to fly, continued to feed them, the summary reads.
As it is written, with the arrival of the frosts, the number of birds constantly increases due to the sight of birds busy at the feeding places with those interrupting their migration, which further strengthens the tendency and activity of people to feed.
Every year, more birds can breed near the artificially maintained food base of the feeding places, so the number of summer barkers increases and now the process starts again with more birds, the announcement reads.
The Hungarian Ornithological and Nature Conservation Association has prepared a free downloadable, printable, and displayable poster about feeding waterfowl in order to inform the public, to help the municipalities that operate beaches and promenades, and to help the birds. Those interested can view the announcement on the website www.mme.hu, the association said in its summary.
(MTI)
