Wyoming Game and Fish Says No to Supplemental Feeding of Deer

Wyoming Game and Fish says no feeding of deer, despite the harsh winter.

While some parts of the U.S. are enjoying a milder winter than normal, other parts, like Wyoming and Idaho, are having a rough go with heavy snowfall.

Western Wyoming is one of those areas and people want to help out. But Game and Fish says no and they have many good reasons for doing so.

Unfortunately, supplementing the animals' diet at this difficult time is a bit unnatural and in some cases could do more harm than good. Concerns about the animals becoming dependent, disease transmission and more are at the heart of the matter.

Wyoming and neighboring Idaho have seen plenty of issues as a result of this winter so far. Deer, elk and moose began raiding farms and populated areas in search of food fairly early on.

In a few cases elk have been killed after ingesting Japanese yew, a toxic decorative brush used in landscaping.

Hopefully this harsh winter comes to an end soon for the animals who are getting the worst of it.

NEXT: YOU KNOW IT'S A HARD WINTER WHEN THE DEER TAKE TO THE ROOFTOPS