Feeding native wildlife

People feed wildlife for many reasons. Many enjoy a positive, close-up experience with our native animals, while others believe they are helping them survive. However, feeding native wildlife is generally not recommended in Australia. Some wildlife experts even believe providing supplementary food to wild animals may have harmful side-effects such as:

wildlife may start to depend on being fed by humans
providing supplementary food could increase the population of some species by stimulating breeding. If the food source stops, a whole population may suffer
increasing the population of some animals may harm other species as they aggressively defend an area from other wildlife. This may impact the breeding success and feeding behaviour of other species
bread or processed human foods may lead to poor intake of essential nutrients, leading to severe health problems for native animals
pest animals and vermin may benefit from extra food sources
if animals lose their wariness of humans, they may become a nuisance or show aggressive behaviour towards humans.

Be responsible

If you are wanting to feed your local native wildlife, check the following list of alternative supplementary foods to make sure you are feeding them suitable supplementary food (see below table) and ensure you adhere to these guidelines:

never feed dangerous or venomous wildlife that may injure humans - it is against the law and may lead to serious injury or death
never feed processed or inappropriate food to native animals
wildlife should be encouraged to hunt and forage for native food sources. Only provide a small amount of supplementary food to native animals
consider creating a wildlife friendly garden with plenty of water sources to attract a range of animals native to your area

Alternative supplementary foods offered to wildlife found in the suburbs may include:
Species	Natural food	Supplementary food
Possums and gliders	native grasses and herbs native fruit and berries flowers, nectar and leaves insects	native flowers and foliage soft and hard fruits carrots, corn and spinach
Parrots	native seeds native fruit and berries	native bird mix chopped fruit and vegetables native blossom and seeds
Honeyeaters and lorikeets	nectar, pollen, honeydew and sap native fruits and berries insects	chopped, well-ripened soft fruit native flowers
Ducks	grasses, herbs and seeds aquatic vegetation aquatic insects	chopped lettuce, spinach or sprouts grain that has been crushed and soaked in water
Kookaburras, magpies and crows	mice and rats small reptiles, birds, mammals and frogs insects and worms native fruits and berries	feeding these birds is not recommended. They are easily habituated to humans and may display nuisance or aggressive behaviour and even attack humans
Macropods (kangaroos, wallabies)	native grasses bark green leafy branches native fruit and berries	feeding macropods is not recommended. They are easily habituated to humans and may display aggressive behaviour and even attack humans, particularly children

Providing water for wildlife

Brisbane residents can help native wildlife stay healthy during ongoing dry weather and periods of extreme heat by offering water to the animals visiting their backyards. Find out more.

Last updated: 22 January 2020