Is it ok for kids to chase ducks?

I’m not sure a toddler chasing a pigeon in the park means he will be terrorising the local town when he’s older but I’ll stop him nevertheless. I’m sure you don’t believe me but despite this obvious faux pas I am a good parent and he does have boundaries!

Well I do see a problem. Firstly, why on earth do kids need to chase birds? Answer - they don't. Secondly, by allowing children to chase living creatures the parents are telling their kids that it's OK to cause distress to other living creatures. They are basically saying that other living species are just play things or toys for their amusement. Surely you can't agree with that?

To be fair most of the parents I see who think this is funny are straight out the benefits office and wearing pyjamas. So I guess we've got a long way to go as a species ourselves.

Not from the pigeon’s point of view though. It’s either cruel or it isn’t.

And even if I am wrong, and I’m willing to hold my hands up if I am but I don’t think I am because sparrows don’t play in the way that we view play, what I said earlier still stands - species chasing each other for whatever reason doesn’t mean it’s okay for human to chase them. It doesn’t make it any less scary or stressful.

Dogs play but can still be terrified by an unknown human chasing as they get scared due to their own life experiences.

Birds playing is not relevant. And I still don’t believe sparrows play chase. They chase for other reasons.

The ones in Holland Park are territorial and will run up to you and bite you. The black squirrels in Toronto too.

The ones in our local park have been fed so often that they will climb into pushchairs looking for food! You can hand feed them, they will pick peanuts out of your hand with their little paws (we don’t, but I’ve watched people doing it)

I can’t say I’ve ever been told my parenting is terrible. There’s first for everything I suppose…I’ll be honest, it didn’t really occur to me that when he occasionally runs after a pigeon or seagull at the park it was such a terrible thing but I’ll take the advice on this thread and stop him doing if it he does it again!

I meant sparrows, it was a typo.

Nad as I said, show me the research and I’ll hold my hands up. Google is written by anyone. It just pulls up webpages.

Literally you just wrote- I quote-

Lots of animals do play, birds don’t

im not personally a sparrow scientist but a very quick google tells me very quickly that you are talking nonsense and birds do play

I clearly meant sparrows. I have said repeatedly that some birds do. Lots of corvids etc do play and are very smart.

I worked with animals for years, some play, sparrows don’t.

There’s a difference between moving somewhere because you need to get here and deliberately chasing and frightening an animal because you think it’s fun for yourself or your child.

Birds don't play? Sorry to burst your bubble

Yes some birds play, sparrows do not.

Of you link the paper that shows sparrows play I’d love to read it. Google can be written by anyone claiming anything.

But do you also shout at adults walking through a town square full of pigeons? Do you tell off tourists in Trafalgar Square, and tell them they should keep out and leave the flocks of pigeons undisturbed?

Adults make pigeons fly off all the time. I wouldn’t let DS chase them for a prolonged period, but if we are walking that way anyway I don’t have an issue with him running ahead - if nothing else it stops them flying up at me. They are going to be disturbed anyway, I’m not going to make a massive detour because there’s a pigeon on the pavement.

Ducks are different, because you can walk past a duck and it won’t fly off - you have to put effort into scaring it, which I agree is cruel. You just have to exist to make a pigeon fly off.

Seagulls should be wary of humans. I’ve lived in many places with aggressive seagulls, so if they get close I do try to scare them off. I don’t think you should go out of your way to chase them if they aren’t bothering you, but if they are after your sandwiches I think it’s fine to shoo them off. The alternative is they chase you.

Not with all animals. Some animals have been known to repeatedly hurt themselves in order to get food in scientific experiments.

Not all species are built the same. Some are shy, some are bold, some are smarter than others. Same as humans.

A very quick Google:

Yes, birds play, including sparrows, and play can help them develop skills and behaviors:
Social play: Birds can play with each other, and some examples of social play include play chases and object play

I don´t see the problem, as long as they aren´t touching them.

Exactly. Take moorhens for example- they are alot more skittish than ducks and won't come anywhere near as close.
They hide in the bushes. The ducks have been coming near crazy kids for generations.

Lots of animals do play, birds don’t. You’re not witnessing play. Sparrows don’t chase for play, they chase for sexual, aggressive, food based or pecking order reasons. Sorry to burst your bubble but they aren’t playing.

👍🏻

She was feeding it and it bit her finger. I wouldn't let my child hand feed squirrels for this reason.

You don't know if a bird is traumatised or not. Lots of birds are pretty stupid and I am not sure they are able to think that a child chasing them is not going to hurt them
Exactly, they react by learnt instinct and safety is primordial to them. They would have long learned through the generations that stepping in areas where kids are is not the best for them.

If food is their motivator, all they have to do is wait until nightfall!

If they are not able to think a child is not going to hurt them , how are they able to think a child is going to hurt them? You can’t have it both ways. People are simultaneously projecting subjective emotions onto these animals and at the same time denying they have any kind of sense/ perception/ agency.

Well let kids chase each other and leave birds and animals alone

'saw a girl crying in park because a squirrel had bit her'
You mean the squirrel turn back after being chased and assaulted her? Or was she feeding it and the squirrel missed the nut and got a bit of her finger too?

Go sit on a quiet park bench and watch all the little sparrows in the bushes chase each other they aren't being aggressive. Plenty of birds do in a none aggressive way. Birds are very intelligent and many of them play. Many animals also play with animals of other species.