Junk food addiction endangering Puyallup waterfowl
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PUYALLUP, Wash. - An unhealthy addiction is seriously fouling up the water of DeCoursey Pond in Puyallup as well-meaning people feed the ducks and geese there too much junk food.
The resulting high levels of waterfowl poop are ultimately jeopardizing the water and a fish hatchery downstream.
Meanwhile, the ducks and geese of DeCoursey Pond have developed a taste for the refined things in life - refined sugar, refined flour, refined carbs.
Local resident Havilah Mann always thought she was helping the ducks - fattening them up for the lean winter months.
"They're so cute," she says. "I grew up feeding ducks. My parents do it. ... Why don't they want people to feed the ducks?"
But as volunteers are now explaining to park visitors, all of this "refinement" is actually polluting the birds' bodies.
"Oh my goodness, I thought it was good for them," says Mann.
Says one volunteer, "This kind of processed food isn't good for them. They can't even fly any more, they're so fat."
The problem is caused by junk food. Too many people are feeding the ducks and geese junk food, and they become addicted.
"People come with whole grocery bags from the thrift store, then they feed them chips, leftover Cocoa Puffs - all this white sugary stuff
which causes the ducks to poop more than they need to," says volunteer Clarice Clark.
All that junk food is ultimately clogging Puyallup's Decoursey Pond with poop - it's literally overflowing with bacteria.
"It's causing problems. There's a fish hatchery downstream - they've complained that the levels of fecal coliform are too high, endangering the fish," says Clark.
Now volunteers are trying to save the ducks from their own taste buds - they're building barriers around the waterfront.
"Keeps the ducks in the water," says volunteer Darren Chromey. "Teaches the humans hopefully not to feed the animals."
They're also building relationships with well-meaning people, and teaching them this problem is bigger than fat ducks on a dirty pond in one small town.
"I never thought of the salt, of what's in the bread, about what's good for them," says Mann.
"We all live downstream," observes Clark. "There's somebody upstream of you, probably doing something you wish they weren't doing."
The resulting high levels of waterfowl poop are ultimately jeopardizing the water and a fish hatchery downstream.
Meanwhile, the ducks and geese of DeCoursey Pond have developed a taste for the refined things in life - refined sugar, refined flour, refined carbs.
Local resident Havilah Mann always thought she was helping the ducks - fattening them up for the lean winter months.
"They're so cute," she says. "I grew up feeding ducks. My parents do it. ... Why don't they want people to feed the ducks?"
But as volunteers are now explaining to park visitors, all of this "refinement" is actually polluting the birds' bodies.
"Oh my goodness, I thought it was good for them," says Mann.
Says one volunteer, "This kind of processed food isn't good for them. They can't even fly any more, they're so fat."
The problem is caused by junk food. Too many people are feeding the ducks and geese junk food, and they become addicted.
"People come with whole grocery bags from the thrift store, then they feed them chips, leftover Cocoa Puffs - all this white sugary stuff
which causes the ducks to poop more than they need to," says volunteer Clarice Clark.
All that junk food is ultimately clogging Puyallup's Decoursey Pond with poop - it's literally overflowing with bacteria.
"It's causing problems. There's a fish hatchery downstream - they've complained that the levels of fecal coliform are too high, endangering the fish," says Clark.
Now volunteers are trying to save the ducks from their own taste buds - they're building barriers around the waterfront.
"Keeps the ducks in the water," says volunteer Darren Chromey. "Teaches the humans hopefully not to feed the animals."
They're also building relationships with well-meaning people, and teaching them this problem is bigger than fat ducks on a dirty pond in one small town.
"I never thought of the salt, of what's in the bread, about what's good for them," says Mann.
"We all live downstream," observes Clark. "There's somebody upstream of you, probably doing something you wish they weren't doing."
Food addiction is 100% real, the area of the brain (Hippocampus) is effected in people who have a food addiction. In fact, certain stresses can cause this as well. It is not about will power not control the appetite as emotional stress can trigger food addiction Here http://foodaddictions.wordpress.com/2013/02/25/i-cant-control-my-appetite-heres-why/
People can screw up anything.
The author of this piece got the title wrong. It should just read "Junk Food Addiction Endangering Puyallup." In fact, you could go through the piece and replace the words "ducks and geese" with "people."
Easy does it Puyallup - just making a joke here. Couldn't resist.
The feeding of waterfowl has become illegal in many areas for health reasons. Not
just the birds health, but primarily because of the threat to human health.
B-b-but it's genetics!
Next they'll want cable and a hotspot.....
so it follows that maybe that crap isn't good for ANYONE to consume?
Oh, for gawd's sake these are ducks we are talking about. Have people gone mad? Not refined sugars! Oh my! We actually need fewer ducks and geese around here. Every summer they have to close lakes. TheCanadian geese are pests. Grow up.
@lin I am sure some local food banks could use some duck meat.Â
Don't forget the geese. I live in Shoreline and the Canadian Geese are pooping everywhere.
Are people this stupid? Well, I guess they are. They are destroying their children right under their noses, feeding them all that crap. No surprise they will do it to ducks and not realize it is bad.Â
GOOGLE what if wild animals ate fast food. Â Funny! Â It's on youtube & 1:44 long.
Now making me be environmentally conscious about the ducks' health or the bacteria in a pond isn't going to work when no scoop law is in place for the dogs, nor is anybody enforcing any of these laws!
@komosux Re: enforcement. I'm betting you'll squawl like a squashed cat if your taxes went up to pay for more officers to enforce those laws. Nothing comes for free.
@Glassman @komosux I got enough concrete evidence that enforcement can get the money from the perpetrator to pay for an extra officer income or subsidize a years income from a deadbeat parent.
@Glassman @komosux No, it's called being a responsible dog owner and being a responsible citizen by picking up after your own dog.
Oh great, now we're going to start reading about a duck obesity problem in this country!
"Tiffany!... Amber!... stop throwin rocks at them thar baby ducks and bring them Doritos back to up mama"
-Overheard from a WT mom @Â the Sandy river (OR) sometime in the early 2000's. Â Will never forget that one, its priceless; thank you KOMO for the opportunity to share it!
Perhaps the Puallup Police Department might be able to enforce stricter guidelines on the heroin addicts that come from Seattle to Puyallup to panhandle while shoplifting junk food from our 7-11's and to corrall the deviants who come to the National Guard Building once a week for a free meal, only to throw their un-eaten food and discarded plates and garbage into our front yards. And someone is worried about the friggen ducks?
You know a more humane and friendly way exists why dont they put up feeding stations where people can put a quarter in and then they can feed the ducks what they are supposed to eat. The city could even do a favor and keep the population of ducks down by feeding them food laced with birth control that stops the ducks from reproducing. People dont realize that you can control pigeons and ducks and feed them birth control and its very cheap and reasonable set up a few quarter food dispensers and feed the ducks.Â
@Mary Songbird Maybe the government should step and feed the people on welfare birth control. You just gave me a great idea.Â
@factchekr Yep! They are yummy!
Fat ducks are delicious!
Maybe Puyallup will find some money in their budget to bring in Jamie Oliver or Michael Bloomberg to solve the problem.
"I grew up feeding ducks..." Can anyone explain this thought process to me? Just because you did it growing up, and your parents did it, doesn't mean you should keep doing it. As a baby, I used to cry and scream every time I was hungry. I don't do that anymore. I might complain a little, or maybe a lot, but I don't cry. What was I saying?
@Illuminati I grew up feeding the ducks........I would like to share that part of my child hood with my children. I have done it for so long, that I never spent time to think of the dangers of it..... There is your thought process. When your a baby and your kicking and screaming for food. You were later taught to voice that you are hungry. You do that now, just like your parents and your grandparents If you are taught that this is OK, you will not think otherwise.
Darn freeloading fatass ducks always expecting a hand out. Â Go and work for your food like everyone else!
@UtterReality The correct name for these ducks are Obama ducks.Â
Also, with Easter just around the corner; DON'T buy your little angels a duckling and then decide it's too messy and too much work and take it and dump it at a local park. WILD ducks know how to fend for themselves. Domestic ducks aren't quite so resourceful and will starve.Â
@Content_People    "and will starve."
Not if you feed them...
Feeding the ducks refined sugary snacks causes them to become too fat to fly? WHO would have thunk it? Oh yea, look at half of our population lately, especially our teenagers. Back in my day, we didn't WANT to be inside. Nowadays, you can't pry kids out of the house with a crowbar.
@Takamine ...and those teenagers are REALLY too fat to fly!  :-D
@Takamine This is the junk much of the American populace is living on, too - & part of the major obesity problem in this country.  The result - passive, fat people waiting to be fed junk on their plates & junk in their brains.
Ms Mann: What is "good for them" is what nature provides for them! NOT over processed, fatty, sugary "people food". Feed that crap to your kids. Leave the dang ducks alone!
@Content_People Better yet...  don't feed it to your kids or the poor ducks.  How she could think it was good for them is beyond me. Â
I'm thinking Ms. Mann has a problem with reading. Â There have been signs at the pond for years explaining why not to feed the geese and ducks. Â
I always thought it was illegal to feed them.
So, just where is this hatchery? I lived on Clarks creek for 18 years, and only hatchery back then was at the bottom of 72nd.Did they build a new one?
Totally American ducks. Will only eat junk food. Now they are ready for their citizenship.
The ducks arent the problem. Its the humans which are feeding them.
@DarkRenegade Kill the feeders of the junk food....Imagine what their children look like!
@Don Tuten Ive visited that park off and on for five years, its a little hangout for teenagers and the amateur photographers from the local high school. There are some parents taking their kids but any time Ive seen the kids its where they are on the playground on site.
solution: Â duck tacos
@Missfitt Yum!
A few bobcats will solve that problem. Heck, even my housecat Sweetie might make a meal out of one of those.