![]() ![]() Malnourished animals and crowding-stress create conditions ideal for disease outbreaks, which is a serious concern.įeeding deer can also attract predatory animals that homeowners and their household pets don’t want around. Unfortunately, supplemental feeding usually encourages wildlife to congregate in higher numbers, resulting in greater damage and a host of problems for people, their pets and sadly, the animals themselves.įeeding a few deer can very quickly lead to many more looking for handouts, concentrating unnaturally high numbers in small areas, which increases the chances of diseases and parasites spreading among the population. Some well-intentioned people think that if they supply a different food source, it will prevent animals from damaging their ornamental plants. More unintended consequencesĪlthough urban deer can bring enjoyment for some, it comes with many challenges and conflicts that can be exacerbated by feeding. Non-migratory local deer, especially fawns, often suffer from things like chronic bloat, which is an enteric disease that can lead to an extremely slow, suffering death as a result of being fed. This is particularly true in urban environments where deer consistently find unnatural foods, many of which well-meaning people purposefully provide them. Frequently this leads to organ failure and death. Unfortunately, this means they begin to metabolize their bone marrow and even muscle. With little fat reserve, they quickly resort to the next available source of energy. When their stomach microbiota is disrupted by unnatural foods, they are forced to try and maintain their energy levels by digesting internal fat. ![]() As rapidly growing juveniles, they lack the body fat reserves to compensate for the additional digestive stress. Fawns are particularly susceptible to dying from an unhealthy or suddenly changed diet. ![]()
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