"Do not feed the animals" is a term that originated in zoo

Zoo

A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....

s but has expanded into popular usage both as a warning and as a humorous display.

The signs are used to discourage visitors from giving any food to the animals. In a zoo this is due to the strict dietary controls

Diet (nutrition)

In nutrition, diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism. Dietary habits are the habitual decisions an individual or culture makes when choosing what foods to eat. With the word diet, it is often implied the use of specific intake of nutrition for health or weight-management...

 in place. The sign is also common when asking people not to feed animals in a public place – some animals are considered to be a pest

Pest (animal)

A pest is an animal which is detrimental to humans or human concerns. It is a loosely defined term, often overlapping with the related terms vermin, weeds, parasites and pathogens...

 and would leave the area if the food was not available. One reason for this is that the animals can start aggressively seeking out food from people, sometimes leading to injury. In some cases there are laws to enforce such rules.

Some zoos, particularly petting zoo

Petting zoo

A petting zoo features a combination of domestic animals and some wild species that are docile enough to touch and feed. In addition to independent petting zoos, also called children's farms or petting farms, many general zoos contain a petting zoo...

s, do the opposite and actively encourage people to get involved with the feeding of the animals. This, however, is strictly monitored and usually involves set food available from the zookeeper

Zookeeper

A zookeeper is a worker in a zoo, responsible for the feeding and daily care of the animals. As part of their routine, they clean the exhibits and report health problems...

s or vending machines.

The term has been adapted for Internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

 culture and turned into Do not feed the trolls. This is in relation to the idea of responding to an Internet troll (a person who posts inflammatory messages) – the more attention the troll's activities draw from users, the more persistent the troll's behaviour in the forum

Internet forum

An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...

.

External links

• NOAA Reminder: Do not feed or interact with Hawaiian Monk Seals – an example of a law that prohibits the feeding of an animal