By Laura Michell
Whittlesea residents are being reminded not to feed ducks.
New signs have been put up around parks and waterways in Whittlesea to warn residents of the dangers of feeding the ducks that live in the municipality’s waterways.
The signs encourage residents to enjoy looking at ducks without feeding them, as feeding ducks bread can cause malnutrition and overpopulation.
Mayor Kris Pavlidis said feeding ducks attracted pests and vermin and causes pollution in the waterways which creates an unpleasant odour.
“We want to encourage residents to visit the parks and enjoy seeing the ducks in a natural environment without feeding them,” she said.
“For a healthy duck population and waterways, ducks need to find their own food such as worms and grubs.”
Cr Pavlidis said a healthy population of ducks at one waterway is 20 to 30 ducks.
Currently, Mill Park Lakes has more than 300 ducks, while Gillwell Park in Lalor is also overpopulated.
“Ducks will naturally migrate to other less populated waterways if the unnatural food source, such as bread, is removed,” she said.
