It’s spring time, and that means it’s time to remind everyone that feeding wildlife, whether directly or indirectly, is never a good idea. Wildlife encounters often increase with the availability of food, and feeding can result in an attack, injury, damaged property and often the death of the animal.
“When there are conflicts between humans and wild animals, the animals lose,” said Eric Loft, Chief, DFG Wildlife Branch. “Don’t feed wild animals. They don’t need our handouts, they need our respect. We should all take responsibility for the wild animals whose habitat we share. When humans are careless, wild animals usually pay the price.”
Native wild animals have natural instincts about what, when and where they should eat. Those that become accustomed to being fed may become dependent on human generosity and expand their activities to get more food from people. These animals can damage fences and structures, become pests and threaten human safety in the process. Continue reading Remember: Leave Wild Animals Alone!