A vexing tendency for people to give unsuitable food to animals is gaining pushback.

A post in the r/Vancouver subreddit showed frozen waffles left out for wildlife to consume.

While waffles may seem suitable for consumption, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency had recently recalled certain brands due to possible listeria contamination. Thus, feeding wildlife the frozen waffles could lead to infection.

"Please don't feed recalled foods to wildlife," the Redditor wrote. "We don't want the birds infected with a fecally transmitted bacterium."

They then pointed to the CFIA's recall as one reason not to feed wildlife.

It's not just recalled foods that people should refrain from feeding to birds and other wildlife. The post makes clear that people should not feed wild animals at all.

"For many of them it's a death sentence," one user wrote.

In addition to the potential for animals to be unable to ingest human food, it's important to leave them be to protect their ecosystems.

One user mentioned multiple reasons not to feed wildlife.

Do you worry about how much food you throw away? Definitely 😭 Sometimes 😢 Not really 😞 Never 🤷 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"They can get habituated to humans and slowly lose their fear of humans which can be very detrimental to their survival as not all humans are well intentioned and they will seek out humans and get into traffic and other dangerous situations," the Redditor wrote. They also mentioned that human-made foods high in carbs, such as waffles, have no real nutrition, which can lead to poor health and an increased risk of being caught by predators.

Wildlife experts back up this comment. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wrote about the hidden harms of feeding animals. Animals have naturally specialized diets, are not used to packaged food, and can become too accustomed to people. Feeding them can also affect you, as getting close to animals sometimes risks bodily harm or disease.

Enjoy animals from afar to avoid harming their natural resilience. This will benefit both you and the animals.

Redditors agreed, and they expressed their distaste for those who feed animals.

"Infuriating, isn't it?" wrote the OP.

Others gave more advice on protecting animals' ecosystems.

"If you ever see anyone feeding wildlife, please try to have a chat with them about it and if they don't listen, please report them to the city," one user said.

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