Feeding the deer in the Phoenix Park in Dublin could lead to the animals becoming more aggressive for food.
New research has found feeding wild animals could be driving "harassment behaviour".
It could create significant risks for the animals and the 10 million people that visit the green space each year.
Researchers from UCD observed the deer in the Phoenix Park during 2018 and 2019 and found that fawns from mothers who consistently begged for food were significantly heavier than those whose mothers rarely approached visitors.
24 per cent of the deer population regularly begged for food.
Lead author and researcher, Laura Griffin, says some people believe they're helping the animals, while others are doing it for social media photos.
