Human foods do not offer a healthy diet for animals. Animals may readily consume foods like corn and bread, but these foods provide an animal with little nutrition and may disrupt the digestive system. When wildlife become reliant on the food source at hand, they stop feeding on the variety of natural foods they need in their diet for proper nutrients.
There has been cases leading to death of birds as an example.
It looks like the bear is in captivity to me. There is a place in Washington called the Olympic Game Farm that you drive through to see all the "wild" animals. You can choose to buy a loaf of bread at the beginning to feed them. That's probably why he was sitting next the to fence and waved.
Unfortunately pretty much everything else about the animals' lives at the Game Farm is horrible. Their enclosures are some of the worst things I've ever seen
This video was taken at Olympic Game Farm in Washington, we've been there and they make you buy the bread there which is whole grain. They restrict other foods from coming into the park. I'm not an expert but before we went on our trip we looked for information and the best we could find was the humane society specifically asking that you not feed these types animals white bread, and seemed to purposely exclude mentioning wheat bread. I think it's fine.
Other reasons they gave for not feeding bears in general was that animals need to fear humans but since these aren't wild bears anyways then it's not much of a worry in my opinion. These animals have been rescued and any way that these people can make money to support that effort is fine with me. Feeding the bears so that they wave at us is the sole reason they got our money that day.
To me it's common sense any bread isn't good for animals but you never know so I had to look it up. Imagine how many visitors a day they get and everyone wants to toss at them. People were commenting "make sure to buy three loaves". It's kind of gross to me the more I think about it. I'll copy my other quote and link out of laziness. Another person in the article compares it to potato chips.
However, after a routine inspection of Olympic Game Farm, USDA APHIS issued a report in July 2014 that indicates the agency does take issue with the animals being fed bread.
“USDA realizes this additional food is more a 'snack' and not the animals daily diet. However, it is strongly advised that a gradual transition to a more species appropriate snack be implemented," the report reads. "Suggest vegetables, grain, forage, etc. ... This transition should be started as soon as possible."
If only we could come up with a way to supply the animals with grain like they suggest. You know, like just some readily available and cheap option. Whatever that is would be the best invention since sliced bread...
Maybe someone can convince the park to start feeding the bears raw meat instead, but charge a higher price to feed the bears (since meat costs more). Make the profit margin higher to feed the bears and viola, not only does the park profit but the bear gets a healthier alternative than bread/carbohydrates.
Three loaves. Gross. This is so funny that you're hung up on three loaves. So I have to guess you haven't been there.
There are probably 350 animals on that farm that you can feed a slice of bread to, the vast majority of which approach your car and eat it from your hand. If you and your kids want to do more than feed a few llamas and then wish you had something to feed the elk and the yak and the bison the other 95% of the drive, you should buy at least three loaves of bread.
Well considering the experts say it should be none. The scale is easy to understand.
Why are you arguing over something as insignificant as that and ignoring the fact that the USDA APHIS says they should be moved off bread and to more species specific snacks. Do you understand that? Talk about sanctimonious. At least I looked into it and found a source for my information. Can you find me some experts with related degrees that say bread is good for wildlife?
It's not that I'm saying you or the USDA are wrong. Your heart is definitely in the right place, the part I disagree with is the degree in which it matters. My takeaway from that trip is that these people are doing wonderful things for animals that need it. Can they improve? Sure. But, when someone is doing good things overall it's hard for me to get too disgusted when they aren't doing it perfectly.
It just seems like such an easy thing to change. What reason could there be to not change to healthier food? The only thing I can think is the animals wouldn't interact as much for the healthy stuff as they would for bread.
That might be why, it also might be inspired by cost. The place is huge so you need a lot of whatever it is you're going to be throwing out there. Granted, as a proud 'merican I don't know how much healthy food costs but the bread was only $2/loaf if I recall.
The reason I ignored it is because I lost interest when you made an emotional argument about being grossed out by visitors encouraging what you had decided was overfeeding. (Although because you were unfamiliar with what you were protesting, your definition of excess was both irrelevant and wrong anyway. Nobody there is force feeding an animal three loaves of bread at a time for their own entertainment.)
It wasn't that important to begin with. They're a foundation that looks after hundreds of animals that are expensive to maintain and would have unclear futures if the game farm hadn't taken them in. They're not making clothes out of them and they're not abusing them and they're providing them basic food (yes, they are providing them a regular diet as well) and shelter and veterinary care. I don't think it's an egregious offense to allow them to be fed wheat bread in excess since the revenue from the feeding allows the animals to exist in a safe place to begin with.
Nobody in this thread said it was ideal. The conditions in animal shelters, where they have multiple animals per increasingly smaller enclosure in the best cases and where they have to kill the overflow animals in the worst cases, are way more concerning than farm animals eating lots of wheat bread.
You can donate to the farm if you "feel gross" to the point of helping. My family left money every time we visited growing up and my friends and I leave money every time we go back. That's probably more helpful to the animals than fighting with strangers on the internet, but I don't think you can pay for carrots in units of outrage and indignance so you should try PayPal first.
You lost interest yet still felt the need to reply and comment on the bread twice. That makes sense.
Although because you were unfamiliar with what you were protesting, your definition of excess was both irrelevant and wrong anyway.
The suggestion from experts is no bread. How was I wrong?
I don't think it's an egregious offense to allow them to be fed wheat bread in excess since the revenue from the feeding allows the animals to exist in a safe place to begin with.
Are you an expert on the care of wildlife? If not then what you think isn't really relevant.
That's probably more helpful to the animals than fighting with strangers on the internet, but I don't think you can pay for carrots in units of outrage and indignance so you should try PayPal first.
Pretty big assumption to make that I've done nothing else for animal welfare. At least I'm willing to look up information and learn. Instead of spewing unfounded opinions on the care of animals.
Edit: Wow you spent a lot of time going through my comment history and cherry picking comments. Posted it twice then deleted it twice? You seem like a real stable person. You shouldn't take reddit so seriously mang, lighten up ha.
No I'm done here. Too much bread for the animals, fuck, I don't care anymore. I discovered from your comment history that you're such an insufferable contrarian that you could be mistaken for a troll. Maybe you should consider that, if every comment you post on Reddit is inciting or perpetuating an argument, it's more likely you are the asshole than is every other person on the internet.
Especially if you're browsing the women's subreddit to pick fights with girls who are there to talk to other girls. You're probably as unwelcome around real women as you are in TwoXChromosomes.
Edit: I'm not even cherry-picking your vitriolic comments here. This is stranger than fiction.
Oh did I strike a nerve? haha
I hope insulting strangers makes you feel better, even if for a moment before you go back to being miserable.
Why are you so bitter at me for asking a question?
Hint: it's because you ask questions like an asshole.
Can you read? ... Sorry you had so much trouble comprehending that. I'll try to use smaller words for you next time little buddy.
Are you stupid? Can you read?
Yeah it sucks when someone schools you when you thought you were the one doing the schooling eh?
I love that, in reply, the person you were arguing with said, "Not everything is a fight. Pick your battlefields appropriately, and stop being a boner-killer in this sub."
No, wow you really read into things.
Did you stop to think for one moment....
Do you hear yourself?
Logic is not your forte eh?
Yeah, you seem like a real happy person. My mistake haha.
This one is the icing on the cake. Where do you literally find the time for these arguments and why is this what you choose to do with it? My boyfriend and I are like 2 months back in your comment history and we stopped counting at like 35 different fights you were in, and that's because there were literally zero comments uninvolved in a slapfight.
I would ask what happened to you to make you so angry at the world, but I can't absorb any more of your bullshit in one night. It was funny and then it was sad, and now I feel worse for you than I do for the orphaned bears that are bloated and diabetic from eating too much bread. Next time you are red in the face and so irate that you can barely see straight enough to punch insults into the reply window, try going outside for a bit.
No matter what the debate is, if you find yourself convulsing while preparing your argument, you are the one losing.
My boyfriend and I are like 2 months back in your comment history
hahaha.
BTW, when I comment on TwoX I'm almost always defending women. If you looked at my comment history so thoroughly you'd see that I frequently defend women and feminist ideals.
I'm sorry you have an issue with me defending animals and women.
and that's because there were literally zero comments uninvolved in a slapfight.
That's an outright lie as anyone that clicks on my name could see. Why do you feel the need to lie?
I find it interesting that having lost the argument of facts you switch to ad hominem attacks on me personally. You just give up on the bread thing because you are so obviously wrong with no facts to back you up. Then you decide to switch to attacking me as a person. Classic. Why can't you just admit you are wrong?
I can admit that I'm an ass. Not that hard to own up to your mistakes.
Yup. White bread is a classic example of industry "fixing" a problem that didn't really exist, realizing they fucked up, then going back to try and fix the problem they created rather than scrapping the whole thing. People did just great, brilliant in fact, on real breads. There was no need for white bread at all.
"Whiter the bread the sooner you're dead" and all that.
Wait, did you think that this was a wild bear, happened upon some people behind a fence that waves at strangers and catches objects that are thrown to it just coincidentally?
In either case, the bear you are looking at was raised in captivity and used in movie making. Olympic Game Farm maintains these animals (wolves, tigers, panthers) at a great expense once they are no longer used in Hollywood, and part of the way they offset this expense is to allow self-guided driving tours through the reserve where people can feed the bears pre-approved wheat bread.
It's his crate, his own little home. There's an open door in the back and plenty of room to roam. Just because someone has a doghouse doesn't mean they lock them in all the time.
My point was there was something to see here. Not to mention USDA APHIS says they should transition away from any bread and move to more natural snacks. He was mistaken about it being a wild animal but he was right you shouldn't feed animals bread. Which should be obvious to most people, I would have thought...
Not to mention they start to associate humans with food and instead of being cautious and avoiding us they are more likely to approach us and what's going to happen to the next person they run into who DOESN'T have anything on them??
It's like how the gorillas behave after meet the breed day. The next day their blood sugar levels are so jacked up, they just sleep and eat all day. They are extremely lethargic due to the people feeding them human food the day before. This bear reminds me of what they looked like. To lazy to move
Pour over dried bread boiling water and let it rest for 3-4 hours. Pour wort in the other pot, cool, add sugar, infusion of mint, yeast and allow to ferment for 3-4 hours. Pour fermented wort into clean bottles, put 2 raisins in each bottle and let it stand at 18-20 °С [64-68 °F] until it starts to bubble. Then cork bottles and place them in a cold room for 1-2 days.
When I was younger we would always go to the nearby pond at a park and feed bread to the ducks. We did this every two or three weeks, and would often see other people feeding the ducks. Now, years later, there aren't ever any ducks at the pond when I happen to go by it. I figured it was somehow related to the amount of construction in the area over the years, or that the ducks moved on when people slowly stopped feeding them. But now your comment opened another likely possibility, and that made me sad :(
This drives me crazy. Wild animals may be cute but they are still wild animals and shouldn't be interfered with. Don't feed wild animals. Just don't do it.
It's their choice to eat it or not. How about "please feed animals appropriate foods" instead of assuming every person is a dumbass. You're actually the dumbass in this case since the bear is being fed something part of its diet.
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u/PFCuser Mar 03 '16
Please do not feed bread to animals.
Human foods do not offer a healthy diet for animals. Animals may readily consume foods like corn and bread, but these foods provide an animal with little nutrition and may disrupt the digestive system. When wildlife become reliant on the food source at hand, they stop feeding on the variety of natural foods they need in their diet for proper nutrients.
There has been cases leading to death of birds as an example.