Feeding Wildlife Can Be Harmful
3 bear cubs forage with their mother on Highway 614 near Manitouwadge Ontario. Photo OntarioNewsNorth.com 2015
People who feed wildlife usually have the best intentions. But feeding wild animals almost always turns out badly for both humans and animals.
Wildlife are normally wary of people, even in urban areas. This helps keep wild animals safe – they keep their distance from people and find natural food sources. When people intentionally feed them, wild animals often start to rely on people for food. They lose their natural fear of humans and pets, which can result in aggressive behaviour, conflicts with people and public safety concerns.
Feeding wildlife can:
- Attract “unwanted” animals to your property, such as predators in search of food
- Cause property damage and costs if animals must be removed, since animals want to live close to food sources
- Increase the risk of motor vehicle accidents, resulting in property damage, injury or death
- Increase the risk that small pets are seen as food by wild animals
- Cause problems for your neighbours, if animals learn to associate humans with food they may become aggressive
- Disrupt animals’ normal travel and migration routes
- Be unhealthy for the animals, since the food people provide is often the wrong kind for wildlife.
Attracting concentrations of wild animals can also:
- Increase the chance of spreading parasites and disease
- Cause damage to the surrounding habitat – including neighbours’ gardens, shrubs and trees.
What can you do to help wildlife?
- Appreciate wildlife from a safe distance. Artificially attracting wild animals to your backyard or home can make them seem like pets – but they’re not.
- Help keep wild animals wild by not approaching, attracting or feeding them.
- Some municipalities may have by-laws that prohibit people from feeding wildlife.
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