Feeding deer that wander through your backyard may seem innocent but actually does more harm than good.
That's the message that 100 Mile House Conservation Officer Joel Kline is sharing with the community as the snow melts and spring takes hold in the Cariboo. He noted that deer are a common sight throughout the Cariboo and that in recent weeks the B.C. Conservation officers have gotten several calls about people feeding these ungulates.
"It kind of happens every year around this time. Some of our community members are trying to feed deer and we understand that it is usually done in good faith because they feel the deer might be having a hard time having food," Kline said. "They're thinking it's good for the deer but in all reality, it is very harmful to the deer in a lot of different ways."
Kline said that the deer and other ungulates who live in the Cariboo have adapted over thousands of years to survive in this environment. As a result, they're especially adapted to feed off of native plants and fruits they forage for both in the forest and occasionally in town.
When people feed them supplemental food, however, such as oats, grains, salt and other livestock feed the deer are not adapted to consume such food. Kline said this can upset the deer's stomach bacteria and in some cases, be undigestable.
"What we've seen in the past is deer will have full stomachs of oats and grains but they'll be super skinny because their guts cannot process it," Kline said. "They'll get diarrhoea and other health issues to the point they won't be able to survive and will lay down and sometimes they'll just perish. Their stomachs are not meant to process that kind of food source and even though it can be very fulfilling for people to think they're helping them it's doing a lot more damage than they can see."
Beyond the health risks presented by supplemental food, Kline said feeding deer can attract more of them to residential areas where they'll congregate in large numbers. This can lend itself to the transfer of disease and potentially attract predators.
Large numbers of deer in the community can also create a risk for people and their pets. Kline said deer returning to a human food source can make them habituated to humans, but they are still wild animals. In the past deer who felt threatened have trampled members of the community and pets they deem as threats.
"It's just a really bad situation for everybody. It's not the deer's fault, they're just trying to find a food source and they just come in close proximity (to humans). We don't want anyone to get hurt, including the deer," Kline remarked. "When you throw any domestic pets into the situation, especially dogs, deer don't know how to differentiate between a dog and a coyote which is a natural predator."
He also noted deer will become more aggressive during the fawning season in June, especially mothers with young fawns. As they do every year, Kline remarked the COs advise the public to be cautious walking in areas where there are a high population of urban deer.
Finally, if the health and safety concerns aren't enough on their own, feeding ungulates 200 metres within a dwelling is a finable offence. In 2023 Kline explained that the Cariboo Region Fish and Wildlife Branch, after multiple reported incidents of urban deer, pushed for a new piece of legislation under the B.C. Wildlife Act to make it illegal.
"In Region 5 it is illegal for anybody to intentionally feed ungulates within 200 metres of a dwelling or school house. That was put in effect to stop this from occurring in such close proximity to human areas," Kline explained. "A ticketable amount is $345 for anybody that is found to be intentionally feeding ungulates. We do have other options in our toolkits, but this is a friendly reminder to please don't do this. It's going to benefit the deer and the people and hopefully lessen any conflicts with wildlife."
Anyone looking to report a violation of the B.C. Wildlife Act can do so by calling the RAPP line at 1-877-952-7277.
