Families warned of fines over feeding ducks at popular park near Bristol

Families feeding ducks at a park in Keynsham have been urged to stop - or face being fined for littering.

Bath and North East Somerset Council has issued the warning in several laminated posters tied to bridges and benches at the duck pond on the bank of the River Chew in Keynsham Memorial Park.

Although the authority has asked people not to feed the wildlife, the poster ends with cautionary line that states ‘leaving food out for wildlife is a littering offence and anyone doing so could be subject to a fixed penalty notice by one of our enforcement team’.

The notice states that the wildlife ‘already [have] enough natural food’ in the park area and that overfeeding causes an ‘un-natural imbalance in numbers’. It adds that stopping the feeding will also help reduce the rat populaton.

The duck pond is popular with families who are often seen feeding the birds with bread and seeds, especially on weekends. The notices have so far had a mixed response on social media. In a local Facebook group, one person joked: “Install a duck pond where you can’t feed the ducks… Keynsham all over.”

Other councils in the country have issued warnings over the feed of ducks. In east Surrey, Reigate and Banstead council asked visitors to avoid feeding ducks with bread and instead use food like maize or seed. The council said its advice was in line with guidance from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

The RSPB has said that breads holds ‘little nutritional value’, and that crushed biscuits, breakfast cereal or porridge oats are better for the ducks. The advice is backed up by the Canal and River Trusts which has produced a list of six different foods to give ducks. They include frozen peas and lettuce.