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Safety is another issue. Feeding deer can lead to increased incidents of vehicle/deer collisions, almost always fatal for the deer and potentially fatal for the humans. It's not just deer, either. Alligators regularly fed by people lose their natural wariness and, Tike the squirrel that associated my father with food, begin to connect people with something to eat. That leads to alligators attacking, killing and eating pets and, as occasionally happens in Florida, a human here and there. Then there's the seemingly well-meaning practice of feeding feral cats. The store-bought food folks place for the stray tabby isn't the only thing the feral cat is eating. Feral felines in this country kill millions of songbirds and small mammals, according to research. One of feral cats' favorite hunting areas are backyard bird feeders where they ambush birds and squirrels and other small animals gravitating to the free and regular chow. The problems with feeding wildlife continue growing as human population sprawls into what once was a natural system. And the problems are accelerating as the nation's population mushrooms. This has triggered a considerable backlash against feeding wildlife in Texas and many other states. This past week, TPWD state park division staff officially proposed prohibiting all feeding, intentional or accidental, of wildlife in state parks unless specifically allowed. The proposal, published in the Dec. 12 issue of the Texas Register, would make it a violation, punishable by a $500 fine, to "feed or offer food to any wildlife or exotic wildlife, or to leave food unsecured in a manner that makes the food available to wildlife or exotic wildlife, unless specifically authorized by the department. The feeding of birds may be permitted on a park-by- park basis as prescribed by the department." The move is aimed at addressing the common practice of state park users scattering corn or other forage in and around their campsites, attracting much wildlife. At some parks, it is not uncommon to see dozens of white-tailed deer gobbling corn at campgrounds or even taking it from camper's hands. Also, the free food regularly attracts javelinas, feral hogs, wild turkey and other naturally shy wildlife. Expect the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission to adopt the proposal at its January meeting, just as the group in August approved a regulation prohibiting feeding of free-ranging alligators anywhere in the state. Even with TPWD's park feeding ban proposal and the prohibition on feeding alligators, plus a couple of municipalities outlawing deer feeding, Texas governments are nowhere near as exercised about the situation as are their counterparts in other states. This past week, for example, Hoffman Estates, a municipality near Chicago, passed an ordinance limiting how much wildlife food (bird seed) a resident can make available to animals, the size and number of feeders a person can use, mandating all feed be removed before sunset and other restrictions. Hawaii bans feeding feral cats. Some states ban any deer feeding. Wisconsin, which prohibits all deer feeding even hunters using feeders or other bait also mandates that bird feeders must be out of the reach of deer and can't be placed more than 50 yards from a house. Other states, particularly in the northeast and north-central regions, have similar deer-feeding bans. 7