Garden bird feeding provides benefits for bird welfare and human wellbeing but requires good practice to avoid unintended harms.
Garden bird feeding welfare outcomes depend almost entirely on practice quality. Well-maintained feeders with appropriate food, regularly cleaned to prevent disease, positioned to minimize cat predation risk, provide genuine welfare benefits - reducing winter mortality and supporting breeding. Poor practice causes welfare harm: moldy food causes aspergillosis, contaminated water spreads salmonella and trichomonosis, and inappropriate foods cause serious health problems. Feeding birds near outdoor cats creates a welfare trap - attracting birds into predation risk. Responsible bird feeding is welfare-positive; careless feeding can cause net harm.