Don't feed the ducks, you'll put them at risk!
The natural environment of Barcelona's green spaces provides the ducks with food they can get for themselves. Feeding wild species like ducks puts them at risk and can damage their health, as it alters their natural behaviour, and they lose their instinct for survival. What’s more it encourages them to settle in spaces that are not suitable for them.
In recent years, mallards have regularly been seen in enclosed ponds, pools and lakes in the city of Barcelona. This is a widespread species of duck, and an extremely opportunistic one, found on almost any body of water.
Recently, there has been a significant increase in the number of nests built by this aquatic species, and it has also been observed that there are people who feed them, either habitually or sporadically. For this reason, the council has launched an awareness campaign to stress that it is important NOT to feed wild animals or birds such as ducks.
Feeding wild species like ducks puts them at risk and can damage their health, as it alters their natural behaviour, and they lose their instinct for survival. Indeed, in their natural environment, ducks can feed on plants or small crustaceans, and so do not need additional food.
What’s more, when humans feed them, we encourage them to settle in ponds and lakes that in many cases are unsuitable for them. This means that new locations are being added to the usual places where ducks have historically bred, and this has led to the establishment of colonies of mallards in locations that do not have the right characteristics, that is those that would enable them to flourish naturally.
As a wild species, they should not be disturbed, and any type of intervention, contact or reliance on human beings should be minimised.
