Tallinn to ban feeding free-living birds and animals

Tallinn City Council has approved a rule change banning the feeding of free-living birds and animals in the city from December 1, ERR reported. Feeding small passerines will remain allowed during winter.

The amendment is intended to prevent larger birds and rodents from gathering in urban spaces, where they can worsen sanitation and pose potential risks to people’s health and safety, said Kairet Remmak-Grassmann, deputy chair of the council’s Centre Party faction.

The winter exception covers small passerines such as tits, bullfinches and sparrows. Remmak-Grassmann said feeding them during winter was not expected to cause comparable negative effects. Helping a bird or animal in distress will also remain permitted.

Sven Sester, chair of the council’s Isamaa faction, said larger birds such as gulls and pigeons, as well as rodents, gather where they are fed regularly. Discarded food increases the number of rodents around buildings, he said, adding that bread and other processed foods can be dangerous to birds over time and that feeding them unsuitable food can harm their health or even cause their deaths.