'Don't poison our birds with your junk food' pleads Milton Keynes Swan Rescue group
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Experts from the city’s swan rescue team are urging people not to harm swans on city lakes by feeding them processed snacks and junk food.
Hard-working volunteers from Milton Keynes Swan Rescue team are spending too much time picking up unsuitable foodstuffs that members of the public are throwing down for swans and other wild bird to eat.
And some feeders are so lazy that they even throw down the packaging too, which poses a real risk to the birds.
Over the Bank Holiday weekend the volunteers have found large quantities of crisps and other processed snacks that are not only disliked by swans but bad for them too because of the high salt and fat content.
Swans cannot process large amounts of salt and it can ruin their fluid balance, cause severe dehydration, and can even poison them. Processed snacks are also loaded with saturated fats that provide no real nutrition, can lead to dangerous obesity, and damage the natural waterproofing of feathers.
A spokesperson for MK Swan Rescue CIC said: “Yesterday, while carrying out a flock check and other rescue work at Willen Lake, the team found yet another job that should never have needed doing.
“A large quantity of completely unsuitable material had been thrown down for the birds. Some of it looked like processed snack food, while other pieces more closely resembled polystyrene packing material than anything remotely appropriate for wildlife. Whatever the intention behind leaving it there, none of it belonged on the ground beside a lake and none of it should have been offered to the birds.
“The birds clearly did not want it. Instead, it was simply left scattered across the area, turning what somebody may have thought was “feeding the birds” into little more tha”n littering. Our team ended up getting down on the ground and picking it all up so that it could not remain there as a potential hazard.
They added: “Please think before throwing food, scraps or anything vaguely food-like towards wild birds. Highly processed human foods are not appropriate wildlife food, and anything resembling packaging material presents an obvious additional risk if swallowed. Uneaten food can also attract vermin, rot, pollute the area and leave somebody else having to clear up the mess.
“If you do want to feed the birds at Willen, there is a much better option. The A1 Donuts van sells small bags of appropriate seed mix for just £1, making it easy to offer something suitable rather than bringing scraps or unsuitable food from home.
Feeding wildlife can be a lovely thing to do when it is done responsibly. Dumping unsuitable food beside the water is not kindness, especially when the birds do not even want it.”
If you would like to help MK Swan Rescue continue protecting local wildlife, you can donate at here or support them through their Amazon wish-list here.
"Please also follow and share the MK Swan Rescue Facebook page. Every extra person we reach helps us spread the message about responsible wildlife care,” said the spokesperson.