Why Feeding Deer In New Hampshire Can Be Dangerous

If you live in New Hampshire, chances are, you've had some sort of encounter with a deer. Maybe they live in your backyard, maybe you've seen them eating berries in your neighbors yard or maybe you've had the unfortunate experience that so many of us have had and you've hit one with your car.

Spring and Fall are the two seasons, from my experience, that deer are most active. In the Winter months they change their activity patterns, but it doesn't mean they are starving, in fact, they're just fine.

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department warn that deer are now travelling in larger groups looking for something to fill their bellies. Although you may feel bad for them, do not feed them and here's why:

Your Kind Heart May be Inadvertently Harming the Deer

If you feed deer the wrong type of food or at the wrong time, you can make them sick, or even kill them. The example that the NH Fish and Game cite is a time in 2015 when 12 deer died because they ingested food they were given that they couldn't digest.

You will throw off a deer's digestion with human fed food. Deer depend on microorganisms in their stomach to digest the food and if the process of this change is interrupted by human fed food, the animal may not digest it properly and cause toxins to be released into the deer's system, creating sickness and/or death.

Feeding NH deer supplemental food can also lead to other problems besides sickness and death:

Increased chance of vehicle collision
Over-browsing local vegetation or ornamental plants
Increased risk of getting eaten by another hungry animal
Increased disease transmission

So, New Hampshire, What Have We Learned About Feeding the Deer?

Don't do it. They are just fine with Mother Nature. No more throwing bread out your back door because you think, "Oh, the deer will love this." They won't love it if they are dead.

If you have any questions or concerns about feeding deer, please contact the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department.