Harms of wildlife feeding and how it contributes to unwanted wildlife on your property
Feeding wildlife might seem like a good idea and a way to help animals. However, you may inadvertently attract unwanted wildlife, like rodents, to your property, and feeding can often end up harming the animals you intended to help. Is feeding wild animals bad?
The truth about wildlife feeding is that it can do more harm than good. It can lead to poor animal welfare by increasing malnutrition, habituation, disease risk and the chance of being injured or killed. When wild animals rely on human food, their health suffers.
Some of the reasons you shouldn’t feed wild animals are:
Feeding wild animals does not give them the nutrition they need
The natural diet of wild animals provides them with the nutrition they need to thrive in their habitat. Human-sourced food may lack the nutrients they need, which can lead to malnutrition, bone deformation and even death.
Feeding wild animals can affect their behaviour
Wild animals can grow dependent on human food sources and may decrease the amount of time they spend foraging or hunting for natural foods in the wild. This may decrease their chance of survival on their own and put them at a disadvantage among other animals in their environment. The food source may also cause wildlife to stay longer in areas they would normally avoid, such as your backyard.
Animals who rely on an artificial abundance of human food sources may become stressed and aggressive if that food is withdrawn and are also at risk of starvation when food becomes scarce, such as in winter or when humans stop feeding them.
Feeding wild animals increases the spread of disease
Human food sources draw unnaturally large numbers of animals to an area. These gatherings can increase aggression and the spread of disease among those animals and others they come in contact with.
Wild animal droppings can also carry diseases that put us and our companion animals at risk. Feeding wild animals may lead to an increased risk of disease spread to us and our loved ones!
Feeding wild animals puts them, and us, in danger
Wildlife who rely on human food sources may become habituated, which increases the chances of negative encounters between animals and humans. When wild animals become habituated, they become more susceptible to predation, window strikes, and vehicle collisions. They are also more likely to be involved in nuisance issues such as if they create dens or nests in buildings, are noisy, damage property, or cause a safety risk through their droppings.
Feeding wild animals can increase rodent activity
Wildlife feeding can lead to increased rodent activity in places where food is readily available. Food set out for other wild animals also attracts mice and rats, which encourages them to stay and take shelter on or in your property.
The most effective way to deal with rodent issues is to remove food attractants and rodent-proofing your home.
Should wildlife feeding be regulated?
A recent poll conducted by the BC SPCA found that 78% of B.C. residents surveyed believe wildlife feeding should be regulated.
In B.C., the feeding of certain wild animals like bears, cougars, wolves and coyotes is already prohibited under the Wildlife Act. Currently, some municipalities have also adopted additional bylaws prohibiting intentional feeding of other wild animals like deer and pigeons.
The BC SPCA supports the adoption of bylaws in parks and municipalities that discourage the feeding of wildlife and encourage the management of wildlife attractants as unintentional food sources. You can encourage your municipal government to adopt bylaws that protect wild animals. See examples of bylaws already implemented in municipalities across B.C. with the search tool of progressive animal-related bylaws.
What to do when you have unwanted wildlife on your property
If you have unwanted wildlife on your property, stop intentionally or unintentionally feeding wild animals. Make sure you are keeping pet food indoors, storing garbage and compost securely until collection day, and picking ripe or fallen fruits. Contact a wildlife and rodent control professional who will assess your property for other attractants and identify how to best wildlife-proof your home.
Not all wildlife and rodent control companies use animal-friendly methods, so check page 2 of the rodent-proofing guide and checklist (PDF) to know what questions to ask a company before hiring them to do the job.