CONCORD, N.H.---It seems so basic: If the deer are hungry, give them food. But, as with many wildlife issues, it's a lot more complicated than that. In fact, supplying white-tailed deer with supplemental feed can actually cause more harm than good, according to officials from the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department and the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension. In a new pamphlet, entitled "More Harm than Good," the agencies urge residents to not feed the deer in the winter.

"Quality natural habitat provides the best insurance for deer survival in winter," said Kent Gustafson, deer project leader for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. "Despite our best intentions, supplemental feeding creates an artificial situation in which the deer, the habitat and the public may suffer."

"Many people think of feeding deer like feeding birds," said Darrel Covell, UNH Cooperative Extension Wildlife Specialist. "But there are some critical differences that make feeding deer unhealthy for the deer population, for plants near the feed site, and for passing motorists."

White-tailed deer in New Hampshire are near the northern limit of their range and have several natural adaptations that help them survive the winter. These include a thick winter coat of hollow hairs and the storage of fat for later use during winter. Adult deer get as much as 40 percent of their daily energy during winter from their fat tissue. During winter, cover---not forage---becomes the key to deer survival. Deer seek softwood cover to avoid deep snow, high winds and extreme cold. Deer move little in these areas and use a network of trails that disperse them and reduce competition for natural food.

New Hampshire Fish and Game Department urges residents to NOT feed deer because feed sites congregate the animals into unnaturally high densities. These high deer densities can:

• attract predators and increase risk of death by coyotes or domestic dogs
• spread diseases among deer
• cause aggression, wasting vital energy reserves and leading to injury or death
• reduce fat reserves as deer use energy traveling to and from the feed site
• result in over-browsing of local vegetation and ornamental plants
• deny access to food, because subordinate deer are kept away from feeding stations and over-browsing by larger deer removes food available to fawns
• increase deer-vehicle collisions

Feed sites also lure deer away from natural wintering areas. This attraction can trap deer in inferior winter habitat and increase the chance of malnutrition and predation. If deer continually go to feed sites instead of deer wintering areas, then young deer may never learn to find their natural winter habitat. Also, landowners may lose their incentive to manage for dense softwood cover, typical of a deer's natural winter habitat.