Is It Illegal to Feed Deer in Maine? What the Law Actually Says
July 12, 2026
If you live in Maine and enjoy watching white-tailed deer visit your yard, you may wonder whether putting out food for them is allowed — or whether it could land you with a fine. The answer depends almost entirely on the time of year, and the rules are more specific than most people expect.
Maine draws a firm legal line between winter feeding and the rest of the calendar year. Understanding where that line falls, what foods are acceptable, and what the state’s game wardens can do about violations will help you stay on the right side of Maine law — and keep the deer in your area healthier for it.
Is It Illegal to Feed Deer in Maine?
The short answer is: it depends on the date. While it is legal to feed deer in Maine during the winter — specifically from December 16 to May 31 — the practice carries some risks. Outside that window, the law is clear and unambiguous.
Maine Revised Statutes Title 12, §10659 provides that a person may not place salt or any other bait or food in a place to entice deer from June 1st to the start of an open hunting season on deer, and if all open hunting seasons on deer are closed before December 15th, from the close of the last open hunting season on deer to December 15th. In plain terms, placing any attractant for deer during that stretch of the calendar is prohibited.
One notable aspect of Maine’s feeding or baiting deer law is that it does not require that the person be a hunter. A person can violate this law even if they are placing deer bait for non-hunting reasons — such as taking photographs — during certain times of year. This catches many well-meaning residents off guard.
Key Insight: The legal feeding window in Maine runs from December 16 through May 31. Any food, salt, or attractant placed to entice deer outside those dates is prohibited under state law — regardless of your reason for doing so.
Where and When Deer Feeding Is Restricted in Maine
Baiting or feeding of deer is prohibited from June 1 through December 15, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW). This prohibition applies statewide — there are no county-by-county carve-outs for casual wildlife watchers during the restricted period.
According to the 2024–2025 Maine Hunting Laws Summary, it is illegal to place salt, grain, fruit, nuts, or other foods to attract deer from June 1 to December 15, or to hunt from an observation stand or blind overlooking such bait. This does not apply to hunting from an observation stand or blind overlooking standing crops or foods left as a result of normal agricultural operations or natural occurrence.
Even during the legal window — December 16 through May 31 — the MDIFW retains authority to step in. When a deer feeding activity creates a situation determined by the Department to be detrimental to deer or a public safety hazard, the Department will provide the responsible party with a written notice of required actions to modify the feeding activity, or require that the feeding activity cease and food items be cleaned up and removed.
Beyond the seasonal ban, the Commissioner may prohibit or otherwise limit the feeding of deer if the department has reason to believe that the type or location of feed is creating a public safety hazard or having a detrimental effect on the deer. This gives the state a second, location-specific enforcement tool even in winter.
If you feed deer in other states as well, it is worth knowing that rules vary significantly. For example, the laws in Virginia, New York, and Michigan each take a different approach to seasonal and geographic restrictions.
What You Can and Cannot Feed Deer in Maine
During the legal feeding period, not everything you might put out is safe or appropriate. Maine wildlife officials have issued specific guidance on food types, and some carry disease risks that the state takes seriously.
If you choose to feed deer, start feeding as soon as it is legal, introducing a complete horse, dairy, sheep, or deer pellet formula gradually, and protect the food from moisture to prevent mold. Never feed hay, straw, whole corn, potatoes, or other vegetables.
Whenever possible, provide natural browse such as dogwood, maple, birch, and ash, or stow acorns to supplement the diet. These options align with what deer naturally seek in winter and are far less likely to cause digestive harm.
- Acceptable foods: Complete deer, sheep, dairy, or horse pellet formulas; natural browse (dogwood, maple, birch, ash); stored acorns
- Foods to avoid: Whole corn, hay, straw, potatoes, vegetables, and any feed labeled “Do not feed to cattle or other ruminants”
- Never feed: Poultry feed, swine feed, or pet food — these may contain prohibited materials for ruminants
MDIFW recommends that deer feed used in Maine contain proteins that only come from plants. Feed labeled as containing “animal protein” may contain prohibited materials and should not be fed to deer. Poultry, swine, and pet feed should never be fed to deer due to the relatively high likelihood of containing prohibited materials for ruminants.
Pro Tip: If you buy commercial deer pellets, read the label carefully. Under federal law, feed containing prohibited ruminant materials must be marked “Do not feed to cattle or other ruminants” — avoid any product with that warning.
Locate feeding sites near wintering areas, ideally close to softwood cover and away from roads, and spread food across multiple locations to reduce crowding and competition. Once a feeding program begins, continue consistently until spring green-up. Keep in mind that an average deer may eat two to five pounds per day, and more deer are likely to visit by February and March, so plan for the long haul.
The rules in neighboring states like New York and Pennsylvania include similar food-type guidance, though their seasonal windows differ from Maine’s.
Deer Feeding and CWD Regulations in Maine
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease affecting members of the deer family (Cervidae), including white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), the species most commonly encountered in Maine backyards. Maine has actively monitored for CWD each year since 1999, and since that time has screened approximately 14,300 wild deer. Thus far, Maine proudly remains CWD free.
That CWD-free status is something the state works hard to protect, and deer feeding plays a direct role in the risk calculus. Feeding of deer becomes a risk factor for spreading CWD after the disease has been introduced into an area because it congregates deer in small areas where they can more readily exchange bodily fluids.
Because of CWD’s long incubation period, an outbreak among white-tailed deer at feeding sites could spread to a large area long before clinically ill individuals are observed, greatly hampering efforts to control the disease.
The legal framework specifically addresses this threat. The Commissioner may prohibit or limit the feeding of deer, bear, moose, and wild turkey if there is documented evidence of chronic wasting disease in the state or within 50 miles of the border of the state, or if there is reason to believe that the type or location of feed may create a public safety hazard or may have a detrimental effect on deer, bear, moose, and wild turkey.
If there is documented evidence of chronic wasting disease in deer in the state of Maine, the Commissioner may prohibit the feeding of deer or cause the removal of previously placed food items consumed by deer at any location, in the county of occurrence, or any adjacent county within the state. This means a CWD detection — even just across the border — could trigger an immediate feeding ban statewide or regionally.
According to the CDC, chronic wasting disease has been reported in 37 states in the continental United States. Maine’s CWD-free status is increasingly rare and is a major reason the state takes carcass import rules and feeding regulations so seriously. You can review Maine’s specific CWD hunting rules directly on the MDIFW CWD Laws & Rules page.
For comparison, states like Wisconsin and Michigan — where CWD is already established — have enacted far more sweeping feeding bans as a result.
Penalties for Illegally Feeding Deer in Maine
Maine’s penalties for violating the deer feeding law are financial and civil in nature. A person who violates the prohibition commits a civil violation for which a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $1,000 may be adjudged. This applies whether you are a hunter, a backyard wildlife enthusiast, or anyone else who places attractants during the prohibited period.
For violations that occur during the feeding season but cross into public safety or detrimental-feeding territory, the enforcement process follows a stepped approach. The Department will provide the responsible party with a written notice of required actions to modify the feeding activity, or require that the feeding activity cease and food items be cleaned up and removed. A written warning may be issued along with the written notice of required actions.
If the required actions are not initiated and completed within 48 hours of receipt of a written warning, a summons may be issued for a violation of a Commissioner’s rule under Title 12, Section 10650.
| Violation Type | Enforcement Action | Potential Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Feeding/baiting deer during prohibited period (June 1–Dec. 15) | Civil violation | $500–$1,000 fine |
| Feeding during legal period but creating public safety hazard | Written notice, then warning | Summons if not corrected within 48 hours |
| Feeding during legal period but detrimental to deer | Written notice, then warning | Summons if not corrected within 48 hours |
| Hunting over bait during open deer season | Separate criminal violation (12 M.R.S. §11452) | Additional penalties apply |
It is also worth noting that hunting over any bait or food during deer season carries its own separate legal prohibition under Maine law. It is always illegal to hunt over any bait or food. Baiting deer by placing salt or any other bait or food to entice deer, or hunting from an observation stand or blind overlooking salt, grain, fruit, nuts, or other foods known to be attractive to deer, during any open hunting season on deer is prohibited.
If you want to understand how Maine’s penalty structure compares to other states, see our guides on Ohio, Georgia, and Illinois.
Why Feeding Deer Is Discouraged Even Where It’s Legal in Maine
Even during the legal December 16–May 31 window, Maine wildlife officials are candid: they would rather you didn’t. Despite good intentions, the short answer is no — the MDIFW hopes residents won’t feed deer. Several well-documented biological and safety reasons back that position.
It has been documented that when done inappropriately, feeding deer can increase mortality due to malnutrition, vehicle collisions, predation, and disease. Each of those risks is worth unpacking for Maine specifically.
Digestive harm from the wrong foods. Activities detrimental to the deer population include providing food to deer that could or does result in the death of deer by acidosis (grain overload) and enterotoxemia (overeating disease — proliferation of Clostridium). Whole corn, a common choice for well-meaning feeders, is one of the most dangerous foods for deer that have been eating a winter browse diet.
Predator attraction and road hazards. Food sites attract predators, and gathering deer in concentrated areas increases disease risk. Feeding stations near roads also pull deer into traffic corridors, raising the risk of vehicle collisions — a serious concern in rural Maine communities.
Disruption of natural winter behavior. Artificial feeding can lure deer away from natural wintering areas, forcing them to expend fat traveling to and from food sources that provide little nutritional benefit. Maine deer are physiologically adapted to slow their metabolism and rely on fat reserves through winter, making unnecessary travel genuinely costly for them.
Ideally, deer should enter winter with at least a 90-day fat reserve. During a typical Maine winter, that should carry them from January through March, maybe into early April when the first signs of spring appear. These adaptations suggest that artificial feeding is usually unnecessary. Maine’s deer are well equipped to handle winter’s harshest conditions.
Important Note: If you do choose to feed deer legally between December 16 and May 31, MDIFW advises spreading feed across multiple locations rather than concentrating deer at a single site. This reduces disease transmission risk and limits competition-related injuries among deer.
Major reductions in deer hunting — a $200 million-plus industry for Maine — would adversely affect the rural state’s economy. That economic reality is part of why the state invests so heavily in keeping Maine’s deer herd healthy and CWD-free, and why casual feeding practices that increase disease risk are taken seriously by wildlife managers.
The broader pattern holds across the country. States like Colorado, Minnesota, and Washington all discourage or restrict deer feeding for the same core reasons: disease spread, habituation, and nutritional harm. Maine’s approach — permitting winter feeding while strongly discouraging it — reflects a balance between public interest and wildlife welfare that the MDIFW continues to monitor closely.
If you have questions about a specific feeding situation or want to report a concern, you can reach the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife directly through the MDIFW deer hunting laws page or review the full statute at the Maine Legislature’s official statutes site.