• Help Keep Wildlife Wild Page Header showing a White-tailed deer

HELP KEEP WILDLIFE WILD

Address & Phone

Natural Resources Department
at the Administration Office

7574 Columbiana-Canfield Rd.
Canfield, OH 44406

Phone: 330.702.3000
Fax: 330.702.3010

Hours

Monday – Friday
8 am – 3:30 pm
Closed Observed Holidays 

Observed Holidays: Martin Luther King Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, and New Year’s Day

Visitor Guides & Maps

View the Mill Creek MetroParks
Visitor Guides & Maps

Get the Mobile App

Download Instructions

WHY SHOULD WE KEEP WILDLIFE WILD?

There are many reasons why it’s crucial to maintain the natural state of wildlife:

  • A BABY WILD ANIMAL’S BEST CHANCE FOR SURVIVAL IS WITH ITS MOTHER.
  • WILD ANIMALS ARE BORN TO LIVE IN THE WILD, NOT IN A HOUSE OR A CAGE.
  • THE BEST OPTION FOR A WILD ANIMAL IS TO LEARN NORMAL BEHAVIORS FROM THEIR OWN SPECIES IN THEIR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT. AN ANIMAL THAT HAS BECOME HABITUATED TO HUMANS CANNOT BE RETURNED TO THE WILD.
  • ONCE THEY GROW, WILD ANIMALS ARE ACTIVE AND INDEPENDENT, WHICH CAN MAKE THEM DANGEROUS AND DESTRUCTIVE.
  • WILD ANIMALS CAN BE HIGHLY STRESSED BY SIGHTS, SOUNDS AND SMELLS FROM PEOPLE AND PETS, ESPECIALLY WHEN IN CLOSE PROXIMITY. STRESS CAN CAUSE HEALTH PROBLEMS AND EVEN DEATH.
  • WILD ANIMALS CAN CARRY DISEASES AND PARASITES, SOME OF WHICH ARE TRANSMISSIBLE TO PEOPLE OR PETS. SOME DISEASES, LIKE RABIES, CAN CAUSE SERIOUS HEALTH PROBLEMS.
  • WILD ANIMALS HAVE COMPLEX NUTRITIONAL NEEDS NOT EASILY MET IN CAPTIVITY. NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCIES CAN LEAVE THEM DEFORMED FOR LIFE.
Photographs of a raccoon and a deer

IMPORTANT: It is illegal to possess, own, control, restrain, or
keep any wild animal. The purpose of the law is to protect wild animal
populations and to protect people from disease and injury.

ARE YOU HARMING THE ANIMALS?

Every day many well-intentioned people harm wild animals by feeding them. This constant interference affects both the animals and people in negative ways.

FEEDING WILDLIFE CAUSES:

  • POOR NUTRITION

    Bread and other processed foods lack the nutrients needed for good health. Visible symptoms of poor nutrition and advanced stages of starvation are often seen at artificial feeding sites. Young ducks and geese raised on bread can grow deformed wings and develop brittle bones.

  • SPREAD OF DISEASE

    Feeding encourages large numbers of ducks and geese to gather in small areas. Overcrowding promotes the spread of life-threatening diseases and moldy bread can be fatal to birds.

  • LOSS OF INSTINCTS

    Ducks and geese that are fed by humans resist their natural instincts to migrate. Many are unable to survive the cold winters. They also lose their fear of humans and become aggressive.

  • POLLUTED WATER

    What goes in must come out! Large amounts of bird droppings and the uneaten bread change nutrient levels in the water which can kill fish.

  • PROPERTY DAMAGE

    Large numbers of ducks and geese cause damage to parks, golf courses, and residential lawns by grazing, trampling, and defecating on the grass.

  • RABIES AND DISEASE IN HUMANS

    Though raccoons, squirrels, and chipmunks look cute and cuddly—they can bite! Any wound caused by a wild animal, even a scratch, creates a risk of disease in humans, such as rabies or parasites.

Photographs of a duck and a squirrel

YOU CAN HELP

  • PLEASE STOP FEEDING THE WILDLIFE

    Feeding is more harmful than helpful.

  • VIEW WILDLIFE FROM A DISTANCE

    Take binoculars to see animals up close.

  • PLAN YOUR VISIT

    Visit in the early morning or evening hours when animals are most active.

  • SHARE THIS KNOWLEDGE WITH OTHERS

RESOURCES

Do Not Feed the Wildlife Flyer

For additional resources on keeping wildlife wild, visit the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

 
Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) logo
Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife logo