The feeding of wild birds is very popular in the UK. 41 per cent of people who have outdoor space at home engage in feeding wild birds, according to a PFMA survey of 2 000 UK households in early 2020. The survey also found that most people feed wild birds because they enjoy seeing them in their gardens and outdoor space, and to support the local wildlife by providing supplementary food.
The most common channels for buying bird food are supermarket/grocery (38 per cent), pet shops (23 per cent), and garden centres (21 per cent), followed by DIY stores, online and other platforms. The total UK wild bird food market is estimated to be worth GBP 235 mio (PFMA Bird Food Market Data Report 2019). This represents a 6 per cent increase on 2018, which in turn was up 5 per cent on 2017.
