Birds are not the only ones impacted by guidance to cease bird feeding

Humans have a particularly strong connection with birds, driving the enormous popularity of residential bird feeding in much of the world.We conducted a web search to document US state wildlife management agency responses to two recent avian disease outbreaks, finding that 23 agencies made recommendations to cease feeding wild birds in 2021-2022.The psychological benefits of bird feeding for humans are well-documented but often overlooked in management decisions in response to avian disease outbreaks.Likewise, ecological evidence does not necessarily support ceasing bird feeding to reduce the spread of every avian disease.Ecological and social science need to be applied in tandem to ensure that well-intended guidance to cease feeding of birds does not have unintended consequences. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Automated summary

This study conducted a web search to examine the responses of state wildlife management agencies in the US to avian disease outbreaks, revealing that 23 agencies recommended ceasing bird feeding in 2021-2022. However, the psychological benefits of bird feeding for humans are often overlooked in management decisions, and not all avian diseases necessarily require discontinuing bird feeding. To prevent unintended consequences, ecological and social sciences should be applied together.