http://www.smh.com.au/news/0201/12/text/national12.html
Oi, wildlife! Grub's up ... and sheep hearts, cake
and mice
Date: 12/01/2002
By Greg Roberts
Four in 10 households in Australia's capital cities put food out for
native wildlife, with the practice now an integral part of many people's
lives, a new study shows.
But experts warn that precautions need to be taken to ensure that
feeding does not harm native birds and mammals.
In the first study of its kind in Australia, Peter Howard and Darryl
Jones, of Griffith University, surveyed 181 Brisbane residents about why
and how they feed wildlife.
Another survey by the team showed 40 per cent of Brisbane households fed
native animals. Dr Jones, a senior lecturer in environmental studies at
the university, said this was consistent with overseas research, and a
similar proportion could be expected in Sydney.
"We found that feeding wildlife is one of the things some people feel
most passionately about. It has become one of the most important things
in their lives," Dr Jones said.
Len Ward, a retired union official, feeds about 70 birds daily at his
Brisbane home. "It's nice to have a bit of wildlife around, instead of a
sterile suburban environment," he said. "You get to know all the
individuals. They each have their own character."
According to the university study, 65 per cent of people who put food
out for wildlife were over 45; their occupations varied from doctors and
airline pilots to train drivers, motor mechanics and a "retired
housebreaker".
They spent an average $468 a year on food for wildlife. Apart from the
standard fare of beef and sheep hearts, seed and bread, there were such
items as mice for kookaburras, cake for possums and cat food for
bandicoots.
Results of the study will be published soon in The Transactions of the
Zoological Society of New South Wales.
Dr Jones said the most common reason people gave for feeding wildlife
was that they wanted to help atone for environmental damage - they
believed land-clearing had reduced the creatures' natural food supply.
Another strong reason was that it added quality of life - helping
wildlife get through the "hard times" made people feel good about
themselves.
Many simply liked animals. "I just love furry little fat things," said
one. Explained another: "The kookaburras helped me overcome my fear of
birds."
Respondents often reported that an injured animal that they cared for
and released would return for food.
The most commonly fed birds were magpies, butcherbirds, kookaburras,
parrots and pigeons; brushtail and ringtail possums and wallabies were
the most commonly fed mammals.
Many expressed guilt that what they were doing may be wrong, but said
they could not stop because "their" animals depended on them. "They are
a bit like some sort of secret society, they felt that governments
didn't understand them," Dr Jones said.
The survey found 18 per cent of people were feeding animals in ways
which were potentially harmful, mainly by providing bread, uneaten seed
from aviaries, or sugar.
In some cases, concentrations of birds around feeding stations created
conflicts between neighbours and potential health hazards.
No less than 120 magpies and 50 crows remained permanently in the
vicinity of one home. "The lady feeding them was oblivious to all the
problems it was causing around her," Dr Jones said. "She thought it was
her mission in life to feed the birds."
However, he did not favour bans on feeding. "People will just do it
anyway. We found they are concerned about the animals, and they are
happy to make changes to how they feed them," he said.
Ric Nattrass, a wildlife expert with the Queensland Parks and Wildlife
Service, believes feeding wildlife should be encouraged. "The proportion
of food wildlife gets from people is bugger-all. Feeding wildbirds in
the backyard is a very effective way of keeping them out of cages," he
said.
Birding-Aus is on the Web at
www.shc.melb.catholic.edu.au/home/birding/index.html
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message
"unsubscribe birding-aus" (no quotes, no Subject line)
to
|
