Feeding birds and squirrels but food snaffled by off-lead dogs.

[OrangeGob]

There's a poster at the entrance to my local park asking people to help feed, water and look after the park's wildlife but to do so in a respectful and tidy way.

I take stale bread, cereal dust, left over nuts etc. to the park when I can and leave it on the tree stumps dotted around the park designated for people to leave food. Tree stumps are about waist height so dogs and children can't reach them.

On my dog walk today, three women with big dogs tried to co-opt me into a conversation about the irresponsibility of people who leave food out because their dogs can reach the stumps and snaffle whatever people leave.

I told them I disagreed, that they should have better control of their dogs around the stumps; that feeding is encouraged by various local groups including the Council; and that people generally leave food responsibly and respectfully (i.e. on the designated stumps, not just randomly chucked into the long grass).

Who is BU here?

Nature usually provides perfectly well for the resident park critters. Most councils actively discourage leaving food around, for obvious reasons.

YANBU, as it is made clear to users that this is encouraged. Though I must say I find it strange that it is encouraged, as you just know not everyone is going to be careful doing it.

You think the “ deserving “ animals will be queuing nicely for your cream crumb ?
di t you actually realise you are feeding the rats ? Dogs are the least of your worries 🤣
I don’t let my dog eat stuff he finds if I can help it as people put tainted dog food out too but You are being a bit unrealistic

Designated tree stumps ☹️

@HeddaGarbled 😂I didn't know how else to describe it 😂

Very surprised to hear of a council encouraging this. Feeding the birds in parks is usually banned because of rats.

I agree - I was surprised when I moved here that the park allows/encourages feeding. There's a lady on the park committee who runs a rehabilitation charity for injured wildlife and I think she's behind it.

@Helenloveslee4eva We have polite birds around here, they queue very nicely and politely for their turn at the tree stump 😂

If the dogs don't eat it the rats will. Surely there is somewhere better to leave it?

Yanbu op. There’s a very popular lake by me full of ducks and swans etc with squirrels all around. Loads of people go down with bread and nuts for the birds and squirrels. Ours are friendly enough to take them from your hands, they do get left on the type of tree stumps you’re talking about as well

Yeah, that wasn’t a criticism of your description, it’s the irony of nature destroyed by humans being used as tables for food which then has to be artificially introduced by humans.

Christ, now you've pointed that out... It's an unsettling phenomenon

I thought stale bread was being discouraged as food for ducks etc? Not good for them and encourages rats was my understanding?

@HeddaGarbled I hear ya. Sad situation.

At my local park you're not allowed to feed bread to ducks as it is bad for them and would just get left in the water as it is a very popular and busy park. They now have a machine which dispenses bird seed.

I bet most of that is eaten by rats and foxes (and squirrels are considered vermin in the UK, so sounds like madness that they are encouraging feeding them!). If you want to feed the birds, get a birdfeeder at home. It's a bit gross to be leaving food scraps around a public park and probably encouraging problem behaviour. There is a park I go to where foxes will regularly steal any bags that people set down on the ground because they've gotten so used to eating food scraps. It's an absolute nuisance. It's summer time anyway and there is no shortage of perfectly good wild food for birds and squirrels.

Those squirrels are taking it in then, as they also bury millions of nuts every year.

*raking

We don't have ducks. We're not that posh.

The posters encourage us to feed wildlife seeds, nuts, some plain cereals, and bread (in breadcrumbed form) at a push though its not particularly nutritional.

Is it definitely the council who want you to feed animals, or some random busybody who has put up a poster? Because I agree with PPs that you’ll mostly be encouraging vermin.

I didn’t realise ducks were posh 😂

Birds shouldn’t need feeding in the summer. Plenty of berries and worms about.

Please do not say all squirrels a considered vermined in the UK. this is highly incorrect.

Red Squirrels are afforded full protection under the Countryside and wildlife act, from harm, capture and disturbance that also included their drays, It is Illegal to harm them.

@YallaYallaaa Pretty sure, yes. The poster has the Council logo on - and logos of a few local wildlife charities.

You can’t reason with a dog owner 🤷‍♀️