The council would like people to stop feeding the ducks bread, please.
Signs have been erected around a pond in the gardens encouraging visitors to feed ducks grain on the grass areas and ''keep your bread at home''.
Waitaki District Council recreation manager Erik van der Spek said the council hoped to educate the community about the dangers of feeding bread to the ducks.
The signs went up about two weeks ago after the council had been alerted to the fact that bread was essentially junk food for birds and could harbour bacteria after spending time in the water, Mr van der Spek said.
''A lot of people probably don't realise - hence the signs.''
He said there was no indication the ducks at the Oamaru gardens had health issues, but they hoped changing the way people fed them would keep any illnesses and bacteria away.
''We've all taken our kids to feed ducks. We're just trying to say `Hey, let's just think about how we do it and how about we use something that is better for the ducks','' he said.
''Feed the ducks - we're encouraging that - and have fun in the gardens, but rather than using bread, have a think about using something that's good for the ducks.''
The decision attracted a reasonable reaction online this week, with some people saying it was a tradition and both children and ducks were sad it had ended, and others saying it was better for the ducks and the park environment.
