Parks Trust refuses to budge on no bread for hungry swans rule in Milton Keynes

A bird lover's campaign to allow fresh bread to be fed to hungry swans in Milton Keynes has fallen upon deaf ears with the Parks Trust.

Dennis Edwards is retired and visits Furzton Lake regularly to feed the swans. But, due to a 'no bread' sign at the lake, the swans are 'starving' he claims.

The signs have been put up on MK lakes by The Parks Trust, which insists bread is unsuitable and potentially dangerous for wildfowl.

Yet experts such as the official Swan Sanctuary and even Her Majesty the Queen’s own Swan Maker, David Barber, disagree with this. They say that while seeds and chopped vegetables are ideal food, bread is better than nothing - providing it is fresh and not mouldy.

Mr Barber criticised a Ban the Bread campaign for swans a couple of years ago.

He said at the time: "Supporters of the campaign claim that bread should not be fed to swans on the grounds that it is bad for them. This is not correct.

"Swans have been fed bread for many hundreds of years without causing any ill effects. While bread may not be the best dietary option for swans compared to their natural food such as river weed, it has become a very important source of energy for them, supplementing their natural diet and helping them to survive the cold winter months when vegetation is very scarce."

He added: "There is no good reason not to feed bread to swans, provided it is not mouldy. Most households have surplus bread and children have always enjoyed feeding swans with their parents.

Meanwhile Dennis Edwards says the swans are "starving" at Furzton Lake and potentially other areas of MK. He deliberately defies the Parks Trust sign and feeds the birds with a fresh loaf daily.

"I feed the birds every day with suet and seeds and I've seen how ravenous the swans are... People need to realise that it's perfectly okay to give them bread - as long as it's fresh," he said.

"I don't care that I'm breaking the Parks Trust rules - they can sue me if they want," he added.

Last week Mr Edwards wrote a letter to the Queen asking if her Swan Marker could intervene and get the Parks Trust sign removed. He is still awaiting a reply.

This week he has written to wildlife lover David Attenborough with the same request. He is also busy firing off letters to Prince Charles and Prince William on the subject.

"They might have some influence to help," he said.

His letter states: "I live in Milton Keynes and I feed the birds at Furzton Lake which is run by The Parks Trust. I am there every day and the swans are STARVING. Not everyone can afford to feed them suet and seed ."

It adds: "With the imminent threat of Avian Bird Flu it's best that swans don't keep moving from area to area in search of food. Swans need to eat every day, especially in the winter months where the food is less plentiful.

"If you have any influence, can you please make a few phone calls?"

The Citizen contacted The Parks Trust to ask if their view of bread would be changed.

A spokesman said: "There has been much debate recently, both locally and nationally, about the pros and cons of feeding waterfowl. Although swans, ducks and geese are designed to feed mainly on aquatic plants and small invertebrates, people like to supplement their food.

"Generations of children have enjoyed feeding bread to swans and ducks, but we now know there are better, more nutritional alternatives for them. Bread is a totally unnatural food source for birds and the salts and preservatives in modern bread have been linked to deformities in their bone development.

"As well as this, uneaten bread is very bad for the environment, causing increased algal growth in lakes and attracting vermin."

The Parks Trust spokesman concluded: "If you decide to feed waterfowl, we encourage you to use good quality bird seed, tinned sweetcorn or chopped lettuce and vegetables. These foods better replicate their natural diet and do not impact the natural environment."