Every walk to the park includes a trip to the pond where ducks swarm around the crumbs of bread that we throw to them. But what many people do not know, is that the bread can harm more than benefit these ducks.
Negative impacts:
- Bread is high in carbohydrates and has no major nutritional health value, so while ducks find it tasty, as they fill up on it, they eat less foods that can provide more health benefits
- As ducks swarm together, disease is more likely transmissible
- Bread leftovers that escape the ducks can cause algae blooms that reduce oxygen levels in water as well as attract pests
Alternatives:
- Fruits like grapes
- Vegetables like lettuce
- Grains – oats/cooked rice
In moderation, bread is unlikely to cause immediate harm to the ducks, but in the long run it is safer for the ducks and their environment to be given healthier alternatives.
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