Urban waterfowl are often fed inappropriate food and managed inhumanely — better coexistence is possible.
Urban waterfowl occupy a contested space — beloved by some park visitors and resented by others for fouling. Management responses including egg oiling, roundup culling, and noise harassment cause real animal welfare harm. Bread feeding causes nutritional deficiencies and developmental deformities in developing birds. More thoughtful approaches — habitat modification to reduce loafing areas, education about appropriate feeding, and gradual habituation reduction — can manage conflicts more humanely while improving waterfowl welfare.