An age-old national tradition of feeding leftover bread to ducks is actually harming them, says the Canal and River Trust.

The trust said bread is so unlike the bird’s natural diet that it is akin to junk food.

It is estimated that each year six million loaves – equal to the size of 20 double decker buses – are thrown into canals and rivers in England and Wales and that the soggy uneaten bread leads to a build-up of bad nutrients that create harmful algae and spread disease and attract pests such as rats.

Instead, the trust says we should:

  • Swap bread for foods more like their natural diet like porridge oats, lettuce or defrosted frozen peas,
  •  
  • Spread the love and visit a new family of ducks to prevent large quantities of the starchy duck ‘junk food’ from clogging up the same places and potentially damaging the environment
  •  
  • Exercise portion control!

Watch the video below and head to canalrivertrust.co.uk/duck for more.