On Feeding of Stray Animals

In all human societies, feeding of stray / wild animals and birds is considered an act of piety, to the extent that it is codified in various religious practices. Among Hindus, I am aware that an intrinsic part of funeral rituals includes feeding of cows, dogs, crows, ants etc. Therefore, I was more than surprised to hear an extremely counter-intuitive viewpoint from a person who is well-known in the field of Ecology and Nature Conservation.

It so happened that I recently attended a public meeting where noted experts on plant and animal life, environment, pollution etc presented their views on the hows and whys of conserving nature. One of the speakers mentioned the various negative consequences of feeding wild / stray animals and birds. 

First, such animals get used to being fed by humans and start losing their natural instincts to forage for food and as a result depend on easily available options. Second, these animals have evolved on particular kinds of foods / diet. When we humans with our misplaced priorities start giving them our left-over food, their diet gets unbalanced leading to health issues in them. Third, it leads to uncontrolled increase in population of some of the animals to whom we bestow our kindness – as seen in the huge increase in the numbers of stray dogs, cats, pigeons etc.  Each of which leads to its own set of complications. For example, explosion of the pigeon population and consequent lung diseases in humans caused by their droppings, attacks by feral dogs on children etc.

These ideas militate against our basic sense of justice and kindness for all living beings which has been drilled into us from early childhood and for which our society is justly famous for. However heartless and counter-intuitive it may seem, it is still worth considering and thinking before feeding wild animals and birds. 

At the same time, arranging for water and salt licks for wild animals, especially during summer months is considered a valid and acceptable strategy for nature conservation.