‘It hasn’t killed them, has it?’ - Readers have their say over controversial sign telling people 'it's ok' to feed ducks bread

The official-looking notice told people that “it’s ok” to feed bread to the ducks.

The sign claimed “everyone has stopped feeding us because they wrongly think bread will make us poorly and now some of us are dying of starvation without your bread”.

The park staff have said they had nothing to do with the notice, and when a mother posted a photo of the sign to Facebook she faced backlash from people who said the information was false, as well as support from people who agreed with the message.

We asked for your views on our Facebook page and here is a selection of the comments.

"I was reading something last week that said it’s the bread that gets left in the water that contaminates the water .The same article said to feed them sweetcorn peas and lettuce. I think bread is okay for them. They seem to have done well on it over the years."

Elaine Butterworth

"We’ve taken stuff up or bought feed for them. Mad and most annoying problem is the seagulls that swoop in as soon as you arrive with food. The seagulls are not giving them a chance."

Julia Wadsworth

"I take bird seed for them now. B&M or Home Bargains sell bags for 99p or a better buy is the large one at 3.99, I put some in a smaller bag and take that. They do seem to be very hungry."

Madeliene Cason

"Always used to feed the ducks bread - always more ducks then."

Jane Gee

"Feed them bread in the winter months."

Andrew Mackenzie

"I’ve been feeding the same duck (it’s distinctive with its blue beak) bread for the last six years and it’s still alive."

Liam Underwood

"No. Bird seed or lettuce is better for them."

Amanda Drury

"Ideally yes, however most people have bread at home and use the stale stuff to take to their local parks and ponds etc.If a bit of stale bread helps keep them going especially over harsh times, then it is better for the birds surely? Generations of families have taken kids to feed bread to the ducks."

Anne Hewitt

"The verdict from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is that bread is not dangerous for ducks and other waterfowl as long as it is fed to them in moderation as part of a varied diet."

Gail Jefferson

"What the article fails to mention is that the original ‘don’t feed bread to ducks’ was started as a campaign by a pet food company trying to sell its own specialist bird food products. If the RSPB say its fine to feed bread to ducks, I’d listen to them over some of the quackpots (pun intended) out there."

John Whitehouse

"The feeding of bread is okay, just try to mix peas or sweet corn in with it. These birds have had people feeding them bread for years and years and it hasn’t killed them has it?"

Janys Wright