Deer have been spotted all throughout the city of Vernal. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources would like to remind everyone that it is highly discouraged to feed the wild. When wildlife are fed they will frequently return to the area. This leads to wildlife being in conflict with humans and such things increase accident traffic. Attracting deer to one’s property can lead to attracting predators, such as cougars. Another reason is to help the DWR efforts to keep chronic wasting disease from spreading. It is easily spread in large deer congregations. When deer congregate, larger deer will often push the fawns aside, making it better for the deer to be off on their own foraging for food. Finally, feeding deer can harm them. Deer acquire nutrients from plant-based food by fermenting it in a specialized stomach before digestion.The wrong food might not digest easily and they might die from starvation even with a full stomach. As DWR Big Game Coordinator Covy Jones puts it, “Help yourself and the wildlife by allowing them to remain wild, and avoid conflicts by not feeding them.”
