We've recently had two incidents in our community that are reminders of why it's not good to feed predators.
First, there was the outbreak of rabies in the fox population on Boston Hill, our in-town open space. I talked to the Animal Control officer one day, and he said the outbreak was particularly bad because the fox population is so dense on Boston Hill. "The people who live around Boston have been feeding the foxes for years," he said. Luckily, only one person got bit, and none of the dogs who are walked on Boston regularly (including mine) had to be put down because of contact. The rabies did thin out the overpopulation.
The second incident was much worse: A local man, who lived on the edge of the Gila Wilderness, was killed by a mountain lion. The lion had to be hunted down and killed, along with another lioness who had become too familiar with humans. The reason for all this was that someone had been feeding the lions, so he could get good pictures of them. Needless to say, he's being charged with manslaughter for his negligent behavior. One man killed, one man in trouble with the law, and two mountain lions killed, because someone thought it would be a good idea to feed predators.
Update: I don't read the paper, and rely on my spouse to read it and tell me what's going on. He says no one has actually been charged with manslaughter, but the paper said that was a likely outcome.