News   GLOBAL  |  Apr 02, 2020
 7K     0 
News   GLOBAL  |  Apr 01, 2020
 35K     0 
News   GLOBAL  |  Apr 01, 2020
 3.5K     0 

interchange42

Administrator
Staff member
Member Bio
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
26,747
Reaction score
33,785
City:
Toronto
Your snuff porn doesn't do anything to stop me from feeding them.
Especially since it's not legal in Ontario.

@interchange42 are users allowed to post animal abuse on these forums?
You're right, we should not be allowing people to talk about feeding wildlife on this forum. Wild animals should not be habituated to to crusts we throw them, and therefore this new City By-law (that won't get enforced) is still a message to abusers of such animals that the City is against such behaviour...

...so quit your advocacy of feeding wild animals!

42
 
  • Like
Reactions: DSC

Admiral Beez

Superstar
Member Bio
Joined
Apr 29, 2007
Messages
11,399
Reaction score
5,434
Your snuff porn doesn't do anything to stop me from feeding them. Especially since it's not legal in Ontario.
Humane kill traps are perfectly legal in Ontario, especially on private property. It's a sales video by a legit pest control company. - if YouTube and their strict anti-cruelty regs is fine with it, so am I. Where do you draw the line, if ants are in your kitchen are you putting down ant poison to kill the queen and colony, or are you perhaps feeding them as well?

There are four main ways to control pests: first, control their unnatural food source (i.e. you); second, relocate them; third, control access to stop destructive activity; fourth, eradicate the pest. My preference is to control access or relocate them, for example we had a raccoon in our chimney and a skunk under our porch, both were humanely removed, the skunk was released in front of our house, after we boarded up its access point, and so far it's not returned. The racoon was taken away by the trapper and released in the Don Valley forest. Two wins there.

The problem with people feeding squirrels is that they then congregate and reproduce near the food source, meaning they tear into people's roofs in order to nest. I still prefer humane control of access to the roof through metal barriers, but that doesn't work well if the food source is not also controlled. Thus I can understand why the lethal option is finally resorted to by those homeowners who might be fed up by their neighbour's feeding wildlife that is perfectly capable of living off the land as intended.
 
Last edited:

SubHuman

Active Member
Member Bio
Joined
Jan 23, 2016
Messages
333
Reaction score
236
City:
Toronto
I am aware of that; but it doesn't take away from the reality that it also attracts predators.
While obviously some people find it upsetting to see it happen, not everyone thinks of it as necessarily being something to be avoided. Hawks (or falcons, owls, shrikes, etc.) have to eat too, and there's generally fewer of them than the smaller birds they eat.
Let nature take its course: Alternatively, you can accept that raptors are part of nature, too, and deserve nourishment as much as do the songbirds that visit your feeders. Predators such as Cooper’s and sharp-shinned hawks are important parts of healthy ecosystems, often preying on birds that are weakened by illness or age.
https://birdwatchingbuzz.com/do-hawks-eat-birds/
Hawks are magnificent birds and deserve to feed as much as other birds do. So, if you can bring yourself just to accept the circle of life and learn to live with visiting hawks, you might be awed by their presence.
 

lenaitch

Senior Member
Member Bio
Joined
Sep 5, 2017
Messages
4,764
Reaction score
4,881
While obviously some people find it upsetting to see it happen, not everyone thinks of it as necessarily being something to be avoided. Hawks (or falcons, owls, shrikes, etc.) have to eat too, and there's generally fewer of them than the smaller birds they eat.

https://birdwatchingbuzz.com/do-hawks-eat-birds/
Aware. I wasn't saying it as necessarily a negative - just reality. If it is other natural predators, a bird feeder is little different that open water in the winter. Domestic cats, perhaps another.

A couple of years ago we watched with some amusement when a barred owl staked out our feeder. The songbirds caught on quite quickly and bugged out but the Squirrels and Chipmunks, not so much. Their only saving grace was the owl seemed to be new at the game. Unlike when we lived down near Uxbridge when a Merlin or Kestral (I can't recall), nailed a Mourning Dove. We had a 4' chain link fence and it took the raptor several attempts to clear the fence with its catch. I used to live up north and watch float planes trying to take off from small lakes - sort of the same thing.
 

Admiral Beez

Superstar
Member Bio
Joined
Apr 29, 2007
Messages
11,399
Reaction score
5,434
While obviously some people find it upsetting to see it happen, not everyone thinks of it as necessarily being something to be avoided. Hawks (or falcons, owls, shrikes, etc.) have to eat too, and there's generally fewer of them than the smaller birds they eat.

https://birdwatchingbuzz.com/do-hawks-eat-birds/
There’s a greater number of hawks flying around Regent Park than I’ve ever seen before. I assume it’s due to people feeding the pigeons, plus the new high rises giving places for the hawks to base. I always like to see the hawks with a pigeon in hand.
 

SubHuman

Active Member
Member Bio
Joined
Jan 23, 2016
Messages
333
Reaction score
236
City:
Toronto
Not necessarily related to people intentionally feeding them, but I had not heard of this before today.
https://www.insauga.com/1000-nuisan...nd-oakville-will-soon-be-shipped-out-of-town/
Could something like this be done with pigeons? I would think pigeons (and FWIW, European Starlings and House Sparrows), as introduced species, are less protected by regulations than Canada Geese. But it's difficult to believe much would be accomplished other than a brief temporary reduction in their numbers.
 

afransen

Senior Member
Member Bio
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
6,555
Reaction score
6,654
I don't see why pigeons etc. shouldn't just be culled. I think moving pigeons out of town would be highly ineffective. I am skeptical that moving geese would work any better, as they famously are quite adept at finding their way to the same place every year.
 

Admiral Beez

Superstar
Member Bio
Joined
Apr 29, 2007
Messages
11,399
Reaction score
5,434
I am skeptical that moving geese would work any better, as they famously are quite adept at finding their way to the same place every year.
The best fix for geese is to introduce their natural predators, like mink, foxes, snapping turtles, hawks and snakes. The only reason we see too many geese is that food and safety are too easily had.
 
Last edited:

Top