Ethical Bird Feeding
Wild bird feeding hides a myriad of unintended consequences. What at first sight looks like an ethically sound and good deed, is in truth anything but! Let’s look into this a little more carefully…
Our wild birds have not evolved to feed in an intensive, multi-species environment. That is exactly what we provide with wild bird feeders. We bring together multiple species in large numbers and around one in eight carries disease of some kind.
When we look more closely, good ethics demand that we must minimise the potential of transferring Viral, Fungal, Parasitic and Bacterial diseases. Data from the GWH, and the CWHC make the disease pathways clear. Trichomonosis is parasitic and is decimating our Finches, with Greenfinches and Chaffinches the most badly affected. Trichomonosis is principally transferred by saliva and lives longest in a damp environment. Fungal disease is transferred in the air and again thrives in a damp environment. Viral and Bacterial diseases are often transferred by feet or faeces.
If we work from the standpoint that through human and environmental intervention, we need to offer supplementary food to our wild birds - we need to do it responsibly. Feeders with side ports are an open invitation to damp and mould spores. So, at Finches Friend, we have:
Developed hanging feeders in which the main body of food is sealed from the environment.
We have moved the birds under the feeder where we can keep the food dry.
Introduced a removable “feed station”. This enables the feeder to be cleaned quickly and easily without removing the body of food.
Designed feeders that ensure the birds cannot walk or defecate in the food we provide. Our feeders are cartridge-based for easy cleaning, and
Our Cleaner Window Feeder is provided with UV window vinyl’s to deter window strikes.
We are now turning our attention to the ground under our feeders. There is no doubt that husks and discarded food from feeders creates the perfect environment for disease transfer. Ethics demand that we address and solve the various disease transfer points, one at a time.
Finally, we have a duty to produce our feeders in a sustainable way, made to last, from recyclable materials. Even our packaging is sustainably harvested and certified and no plastics are used in our primary packaging.