Do not feed the animals

The prohibition "do not feed the animals" reflects a policy forbidding the artificial feeding of wild or feral animals. Signs displaying this message are commonly found in zoos, circuses, animal theme parks, aquariums, national parks, parks, public spaces, farms, and other places where people come into contact with wildlife. In some cases there are laws to enforce such no-feeding policies.

Feeding wild animals can significantly change their behavior. Feeding or leaving unattended food to large animals, such as bears, can lead them to aggressively seek out food from people, sometimes resulting in injury. Feeding can also alter animal behavior so that animals routinely travel in larger groups, which can make disease transmission between animals more likely. In public spaces, the congregation of animals caused by feeding can result in them being considered pests. In zoos, giving food to the animals is discouraged due to the strict dietary controls in place. More generally, artificial feeding can result in, for example, vitamin deficiencies and dietary mineral deficiencies. Outside zoos, a concern is that the increase in local concentrated wildlife population due to artificial feeding can promote the transfer of disease among animals or between animals and humans.