bagels

The above photo was taken yesterday on the Emmons Avenue side of the Ocean Avenue footbridge. Captured by reader Andrey G., “Someone dumps bagels and bread into the Bay on industrial scale.”

It’s true, and it’s not the first time we’ve seen this. While many come to the waterfront with fistfuls of crumbs to feed the swans, others have taken it to some pretty severe extremes. It even looks like some businesses may be purposely chucking their end-of-day leftovers into the water, presumably to avoid paying the carting fees to have it properly tossed.

And it’s not just bread and bagels. A few weeks ago we were tipped off to the fact that someone decided to chuck three whole large pizzas in the Bay. It made for quite a sight as they surfed the waves (and unfortunately wasn’t captured on camera).

As you can see, the swans aren’t interested. They get their fill both naturally and from those who toss in crumbs. This is just overkill, and actually incredibly bad for the health of the birds and other wildlife.

In the midst of the fight to protect Sheepshead Bay’s swans, actions like these sure lend an argument to those who’d prefer to see them exterminated. So knock it off, or this will become yet another reason of why we can’t have nice things.

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  • http://www.acmbphotography.com/ Max Bolotov

    Fucking disgusting


  • raylotekka

    My god, the world is populated by idiots. Damned littering fools.


  • ShadowLock

    Plus don’t people know………. Bread is actually harmful to the swans…


  • Inchik

    Yes… this is disgusting and people shouldn’t just throwing bread. However, what people can do if they wish to feed the birds, is to drop a small piece and see if they are hungry. If they are, then drop few pieces at a time and ensure they eat it before dropping more. This way, there are no left overs. Also, for “bread being harmful”, it is actually white bread which is bad (as it lacks nutrition). Also, bread left over in the water is bad as it can become poisonous due to bacteria. However, overall, given them a little dark bread will not hurt anyone… just don’t overdo it.