Wyoming authorities are not meanies with no feelings when they tell us not to feed deer that saunter around our homes. Do you know all of these very good reasons not to? Feeding deer only causes problems for us all – including deer, themselves.

A deer’s stomach isn’t able to handle what it’s being fed. What is common for people who like to feed hungry mule deer - in the neighborhood to forage in the winter - is just not for the internal make-up of the wild animal. It takes weeks to digest ”foods” left not broken down in their bodies. Deer often end up starving to death, even with a belly full of our own store bought processed food not in their diet.

Other problems with feeding hungry animals include attracting their predators as well. There’s also property damage like destroyed flower beds and shrubs, more collisions with vehicles, and more aggressive encounters with humans and pets.

Larger numbers of deer in town also creates animosity between neighbors, because some do know the problems it brings into the hood.

Wyoming Game & Fish cite all of the above, saying that we're not in their habitat, and if they are going to starve, deer will come to their end only quicker out of their habitat. Feeding deer may be a warm fuzzy thing that makes people feel better, but the Game & Fish folks want us to know, “It doesn’t do the deer any favors.”

In fact, there is now a Wyoming house bill (HB 69) that would allow counties to ban citizens from feeding any big game animals.

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