We know, by now, that we’re not supposed to feed wild waterfowl – there are plenty of signs in our parks reminding us of that – and we think we know why. It’s not good, for many reasons, for wild animals to become dependent on humans for handouts.

Still, every time we read about an elderly woman fined for throwing breadcrumbs to ducks or geese, we tend to take her side. After all, what harm does it do the birds? Is the occasional scrap of bread any worse for them than the occasional order of French fries is for us?

Unfortunately, yes. Bread can kill a duck or goose.

Kamala Appel, a producer of documentaries and reality TV programs about animals, explains: “[T]he bread sits in their crop, which is a holding area by their stomach/part of their digestion. The bread expands with water (since they are water birds) and as a result the duck/water bird ends up starving because no food can get through the complete digestive process and provide nourishment.”

However close we may feel to animals, we have to remember their bodies don’t work in the same way ours do.

Does this mean it’s never safe to feed wild waterfowl? Kamala Appel says, “If someone is bound and determined to feed ducks at the park, then wild bird seed is a potentially safe option. It can be purchased from most pet food stores and is not expensive. However, I do NOT advocate making wild animals dependent on humans because it ends up hurting the wild population.”

In my next article, we’ll see how this dependency is harmful to both birds and humans.

Kamala Appel is developing a TV series  on what to do and what not to do if you  want to help animals. You can learn about this and more at her site, animalvideopro.com.