Harrow Council in north west London wants to fine people who feed ducks at one of its parks. The town hall wants to extend a public spaces protection order (PSPO) to include a ban on feeding the birds at Pinner Memorial Park with perpetrators hit with a £100 fine.
Harrow Council leader Paul Osborn has said the ducks are probably being killed by the bread.
At a recent meeting of the council’s Cabinet, resident Hugh Brown asked if an outright ban was necessary to which Mr Osborn is reported by the BBC to have replied: “I hate to tell you this, but if you were feeding the ducks with bread or other similar foods, whilst you may have fond memories of it, you are probably actually killing some of the ducks.”
He pointed to evidence from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Canal River Trust that while bread fills ducks’ stomachs it fails to provide nourishment.
The council leader argued that uneaten bread can contaminate the water, attract “vermin” and create a public health nuisance.
Fines can already be dished out to people feeding birds in Harrow’s town centre, but the local authority is consulting on extending this law across the borough.
Figures in 2022 show 44 people in the area were issued fines for breaking bird-feeding laws.
A PSPO permits council officers to hand out Fixed Penalty Notices of up to £100 or a summary offence fine up to £1,000.
Harrow Council said there had been particular issues with duck feeding in its parks, adding this can not only be harmful to ducks and contaminate the water but also attract vermin.
It told the BBC: “This is why we included it in our PSPO consultation, and we look forward to reviewing local responses before taking a final decision.”
The Canal and River Trust says almost three-quarters of Britons throw leftover bread in ponds, lakes, rivers and canals each year.
It says bread fills ducks’ stomachs but it lacks nutritional value and because the birds feel full they stop foraging for the natural foods which benefit them.
Soggy bread which goes uneaten can also cause bad nutrients to accumulate, leading to more algae growing around water, more diseases and more pests.
Throwing bread into a waterway can also create an “unnatural overcrowding” of bird populations with birds flocking to the same location.
The Trust says “too many ducks or waterfowl in one place can stress the birds” and result in their habitats being damaged.
It also creates excessive amounts of bird droppings which are smelly, slippery underfoot and can reduce water quality, according to the Trust.
