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    Help Wildlife: Let Them Find Their Own Food

    Feeding wildlife, especially during winter, might seem helpful, but it disrupts their natural behaviors and survival mechanisms — which can be dangerous to both animals and humans. 

    Why You Shouldn’t Feed Wildlife

    •  It unnaturally crowds wildlife, contributing to the spread of disease. Artificial feed sites congregate wildlife in small areas. Many wildlife diseases are spread from animal to animal through respiration droplets, saliva, feces, and urine or through contaminated feed or soil. Some diseases that could be spread through artificial feed sites include chronic wasting disease, mange, bovine tuberculosis, and gastrointestinal parasites. Overcrowding around feed sites can also lead to high stress, weakening animals and making them more vulnerable to disease.
    • It can cause a loss of fear of humans (habituation), aggressive behavior, and increased human-wildlife conflict. When wildlife are fed, they become conditioned to the presence of people — often associating people with food — and may seem tame. Coyotes, black bears, deer, raccoons, and other species can often become habituated to humans. This poses a threat to the health, safety, and well-being of humans and pets as well as a risk to habituated animals that could become a public safety concern.
    • It disrupts natural diets and movement paths. Supplemental feed such as cracked corn can’t replace what wildlife get from natural food sources. In fact, it can lead to potentially fatal conditions such as lactic acidosis and foundering.
    • It can negatively impact the surrounding habitat. Continually feeding and congregating wildlife can lead to overbrowsing in the area, reducing its value for all species. It can also increase predation on some species.
    • It’s illegal to feed deer in areas with targeted feeding restrictions and always illegal to feed bear and elk. Hunting in proximity to areas where feeding occurs is also illegal. 

    What You Can Do To Help Wildlife

    • Stop feeding wild animals and encourage others to do the same.
    • Create quality habitat with native vegetation to provide food and cover for wildlife. Consider planting trees and plants that produce nuts, seeds, and nectar. Native flowers and plants can increase native insects which may attract certain species more naturally while helping declining pollinators.
    • Place nest boxes around your property to provide birds and mammals with a place to nest and rest. You can build your own with free plans or purchase them from Howard Nursery.