Seagulls feasting on piles of leftover carb-rich Machboos, the national dish of Bahrain, are getting too fat to fly, according to a leading councillor.
Northern Municipal Council’s Technical Committee chairman Abdullah Al Qubaisi is demanding a crackdown of the improper disposal of leftover food thrown out by families.
Machboos, a traditional Arabic rice dish cooked in a chicken broth flavoured with a blend of spices and dried loomi, is a firm favourite of the pesky gulls.
“The seagulls are no longer flying because they are so overweight,” he said. “We can see them walking on the ground, it’s like they just left work and came home for lunch,” he said.
“These are sea birds and not land birds.
“We only ever see them feeding on leftover meals such as machboos and other traditional dishes,” he said.
“All that is left to do for these birds is to set them up with a jug of juice and a range of desserts!”
Mr Al Qubaisi said several instances has been witnessed in Hamad Town where seagulls were feeding on leftover rice within neighbourhoods – many kilometres away from the sea.
He added that the area is suffering from a rodent infestation too and stressed the importance of raising awareness and urged the Northern Municipality and Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry to put up warning signs in open spaces.
“We understand that people are doing this to help feed stray and wild animals and we know it is out of kindness but an act of kindness shouldn’t be detrimental to other people,” added Mr Al Qubaisi.
Wild birds rarely store fat, since all the food they eat is turned into energy needed to generate body heat and flying. However, birds with unhealthy diets do not need to expend as much energy foraging for natural foods and they may gain unnecessary weight, according to animal welfare experts. This often happens with feral waterfowl colonies in urban areas.
Meanwhile, council chairman Ahmed Al Kooheji stressed the importance of preserving food by understanding portion sizes as food wastage is forbidden in Islam.
“Dumping all this food which is sometimes drenched in oil leaves behind foul odours and creates an uncivilised image within neighbourhoods,” he said.
“Food is a blessing from Allah and we need to preserve it and even if there are leftovers there are correct and proper ways to dispose of it to feed the animals.
“It is critical for signs to be set up in open spaces highlighting these actions as violations, so that people can be made aware of the environmental issues associated with their actions.”
Councillors unanimously approved the proposal to set up signs in open spaces to raise awareness among people, while also designated specified areas for the disposal of food as a collaborative effort between the Northern Municipality, the council’s public relations and information committee and the Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry.
The proposal was amended to include punishing violators and will now be referred to the Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Minister Essam Khalaf for review.
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