Zug,20.07.2017

Don't feed the ducks with old bread; make Zug cherry cake with it instead

At present there are no signs by the lake shore asking people to refrain from feeding the ducks. However, it seems they might be put up again, bearing in mind the numbers spotted doing so.

Actually, it was not so much the ducks which got a mention in this article, it was waterfowl in general and includes pigeons.
 
So what is so wrong about feeding birds in an action which, on the surface, seems totally harmless and provides great enjoyment to both feeders and those fed?
 
A lot, apparently.
 
First of all, such feeding leads to increased deposits of avian faeces, increased incidence of avian disease, and greater levels in stress caused by too many birds living in close proximity to each other. Furthermore, this contact with humans leads the birds to lose their natural timidity of them, leading to greater preponderance of them in places where they are not wanted, on turfed areas used for sunbathing and at garden restaurants in the vicinity of Lake Zug, for example.
 
“Most members of the public are fully aware of all these problems associated with feeding birds but occasionally they forget,” said Walter Fassbind, the ecologist to the city of Zug and head of the its Department of the Environment and Energy. “This is why we want to remind people with this poster campaign. It is better to act in this preventive way rather than have to deal with the subsequent problems among the avian population,” he said, which is why municipal employees have been instructed to warn people seen feeding the birds about the problems it causes, rather than admonish them in any way.
 
He also pointed out that bread, as a processed food, is not part of the natural diet of waterfowl nor pigeons. Indeed, as experts at the renowned Swiss Ornithological Institute in Sempach in the canton of Lucerne pointed out, it is unhealthy for them in the long term and can lead to digestive problems. They also said that birds found at places where they were fed in this way were generally weaker and at greater risk of infestation from parasites, which can lead to further stress for them.
 
Following on from what was clearly a brain-storming meeting about how to curtail this problem, the decision was taken to distribute paper bags for the collection of old bread, on which recipes of what it could be used for were printed, one of which was for the local Zug cherry cake.
 
Fassbind recognised that there was an innate desire for young people to want to feed animals when they see them, hence the common sight of children picking grass to feed animals when they encountered them. However, he stressed it was in the interest of both the human and avian population to desist from feeding such birds.
 
Hence this message from the city authorities to citizens unaware of the error of their ways: “Better to enjoy a freshly baked cake made with old bread rather than use it to contribute to the increase in incidence of sickly birds and fouling of the environment through avian faeces.”