While people mean well, feeding wildlife—and ungulates in particular—does more harm than good. Here are three reasons (among others!) that people should stop feeding wildlife:

Deer, elk, and moose have microorganisms in their digestive system that gradually change with the seasons, allowing them to eat different naturally occurring foods throughout the year. A rapid transition from high-fiber woody browse to high-carb/protein human-provided foods, can lead to a condition called acidosis (carb overload), which can kill an animal in 24-72 hours.
Feeding wildlife is against Teton County regulations and you can get fined up to $750 a day. You can report violations to Teton County’s Code Compliance Office at (307) 733-3959.
Feeding can disrupt natural behavior. It concentrates animals, increasing the risk of predation and disease. If an animal is conditioned to remain near a feeding site, it might not migrate. Over the long-term, this can disrupt longstanding seasonal movements and compromise the population as a whole. Fed animals also tend to lose their fear of people, which can negatively affect survival.

Many thanks to our partners at Teton County for producing the video above on how we can all work together to minimize wildlife conflict. And thanks to Wyoming Game & Fish Department, Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, and Town of Jackson for contributing to this project. Teton Conservation District supported this effort with a Partners in Conservation grant.