The Perils of Feeding Wildlife

Published by Lori Nick on 07/22/2025 07/28/2025

People know that a fed bear is a dead bear, but what are the implications of feeding the wild animals that can be found on SḴŦAḴ | Mayne Island? Feeding our island’s wild animals, including deer, river otters, mink, and raccoons is detrimental to their health and well-being and can be harmful to pets and humans.

Direct feeding unnatural foods to animals can lead to digestive issues and malnutrition. For example, hay is meant to be fed to farm animals with access to an unlimited water supply. If given hay without access to sufficient water, a wild animal’s digestive tract may be damaged, leading to death. Wild animals can also contract diseases from discarded human food that is left in open bins. Unsecured food composting containers and garbage bags often attract wildlife to yards and roadsides. This increases the chances of wildlife ingesting toxic rotting food, leading to garbage toxicosis or “garbage gut.” In addition, when wildlife is attracted close to human homes, infectious diseases can be spread to pets and their owners through unintentional contact with wild animal feces and urine. 

Animals that are habituated to human food lose their natural wariness of people and pets. It changes their wildness. This may cause aggression and dangerous close-encounters between humans and wildlife. Injury to both wild and domesticated animals and humans can be the result of these altercations.

A high concentration of animals in one area can increase the risk of disease transmission. Bird feeders often attract large numbers of birds, creating ideal conditions for the spread of illnesses such as salmonella, which can be contracted through contaminated food in unclean feeders. To reduce this risk, regularly clean bird feeders, bird seed or nectar containers, and bird baths. Promptly remove fallen seed to deter pests like rats, mice, and raccoons, and to prevent seed spoilage. If you cannot maintain your bird feeders while off-island, it is best to remove them.

There are many ways to help wildlife on SḴŦAḴ | Mayne Island that don’t involve feeding them directly:

• Secure garbage and compost in animal-proof containers.
• Support organizations that promote wildlife conservation and rehabilitation.
• Apply decals to windows to reduce bird strikes.
• If cats visit your yard, re-think having a feeder. Cats are estimated to kill more than 100 million birds a year in Canada.
• Go to where wild birds are (Mayne’s trails and parks) instead of having them come to you. Observing birds in their natural habitat is fun and educational, but take binoculars instead of bird seed – feeding birds or other wildlife in parks is illegal.
• Grow enclosed gardens that include native plants with flowers and berries. Native plants are available from the Mayne Conservancy year-round.

Observing wildlife can be a memorable and meaningful experience. To protect the health and natural behaviour of SḴŦAḴ | Mayne Island’s wild animals, it is best to avoid feeding them.