Harrow Council wants to fine people for feeding the ducks

The Canal River Trust says bread does not have much nutritional value for ducks but does not harm them

A council in north-west London wants to fine residents who feed the ducks.

Under plans for a public space protection order (PSPO), feeding the ducks in Pinner Memorial Park could be banned and perpetrators hit with a £100 fine.

Harrow's council leader has said the ducks are "probably being killed" by the park custom.

Councillor Paul Osborn said due to the fact that most people feed them bread, it was better not to feed them at all.

At a recent Harrow Council Cabinet meeting, resident Hugh Brown asked if an outright ban was necessary, to which council leader Mr Osborn 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 argued, referencing the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Canal River Trust, that bread only fills duck's stomachs and does not nourish them.

He added the uneaten bread and food leads to potential contamination of the water, encourages vermin such as pigeons, and creates a "public health nuisance", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

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Harrow resident Mr Brown put to the council leader: "It's a shame it can't be a bit more nuanced and give that discretion to people feeding real duck food," calling the planned outright ban, "a bit odd overall".

He added: "It singles out the memorial park but no explanation of why not other parks.

"Many parents and grandparents will have experienced the simple joy of taking the kids to feed the ducks. I was concerned and somewhat surprised to see that the council's PSPO would prohibit this," he said.

Mr Osborn added: "The challenge there is the feeding of the ducks in the Pinner Memorial Park causes real problems with pigeons."Fines can already be given out to people feeding birds in Harrow town centre, but the council is consulting to extend this law borough-wide, including in parks.

In 2022, figures show that 44 people in the borough were issued fines for breaking bird-feeding laws. A PSPO enables council officers to hand out Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) of up to £100, or a summary offence fine of up to £1,000.

A public consultation is currently ongoing on the proposal and Mr Osborn said the council would consider all responses before coming forward with a recommendation, which would then be voted on by the cabinet.

In a statement, Harrow Council said there had been "particular issues with duck feeding in our parks", which could "not only can this be harmful to ducks and contaminate the water, it can also attract vermin".

"This is why we included it in our PSPO consultation, and we look forward to reviewing local responses before taking a final decision," it said.

Is bread harmful for ducks?

What ducks actually eat has been a point of confusion in recent years. The advice from the Canal River Trust says ducks should have a varied diet eating sweetcorn, oats, frozen peas, rice and seeds.

Bread does not have much nutritional value for ducks but does not harm them, the trust says.

Wendy Hermon, from Swan Support, which rescues swans, ducks and geese in the Thames Valley, told the BBC in 2019 that ducks were starving because people had stopped feeding them bread in recent years.

They blamed a campaign, which they said was started by a company selling bird food.

She added people should only throw in as much as the birds eat, so that there is no excess bread left behind to decay.

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