The prohibition "do not feed the animals" reflects a policy forbidding the artificial feeding of wildlife (wild or feral animals) in situations where the animals, or the people doing the feeding, might be harmed. Signs displaying this message are commonly found in zoos, animal theme parks, aquariums, national parks, parks, public spaces, and other places where people come into contact with wildlife.[1][2][3] In some cases there are laws to enforce such no-feeding policies.[4][5]
This sign discourages feeding coyotes, which can result in aggressive behavior toward humans.[6][7]
In zoos, giving food to the animals is discouraged due to the strict dietary controls in place.[2] More generally, artificial feeding can result in, for example, vitamin deficiencies[8] and dietary mineral deficiencies.[9] Another motivation is the concern that animals will become accustomed to ingesting foreign objects and might later ingest something harmful.[10] 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.[8][11] Feeding can also alter animal behavior so that animals routinely travel in larger groups, which can make disease transmission between animals more likely.[12] In public spaces, the congregation of animals caused by feeding can result in them being considered pests.[13] Artificial feeding can also lead to animals aggressively seeking out food from people, sometimes resulting in injury.