Urban waterfowl are frequently fed inappropriate foods — welfare and coexistence education can help.
Urban park waterfowl occupy a welfare space shaped by well-intentioned but harmful human behavior. Bread feeding causes developmental deformities and nutritional deficiencies in young birds. Harassment programs aimed at relocating geese cause stress and disruption without long-term population reduction. Egg oiling — coating eggs to prevent hatching — is more humane than lethal control but requires sustained effort. Education about appropriate feeding, the harms of bread, and coexistence approaches serves both waterfowl welfare and creates more positive human-wildlife relationships.