Florida woman, 81, arrested for feeding bears lots of dog food

[jakeXT]

But authorities had warned her multiple times not to feed the black bears coming onto her property.

She did anyway. And she fed them a lot -- up to 17 to 18 bowls of dog food at a time, wildlife officials told the affiliate.

The bears loved it and kept coming back. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission hated it and kept coming back, too.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/01/justice/florida-feeding-bears-arrest/index.html

[hlthe2b]

1. Incredibly stupid though her age might be factoring in...

[Packerowner740]

2. It's a shame she had to be imprisoned but

She causing the bears more harm than doing them good.

[LiberalEsto]

3. Where does she get the money for all that dog food?

There's a woman in our neighborhood who feeds dog food to foxes, despite many requests by neighbors that she stop.

Our yard is on the route between the fox den and her house, so we frequently see foxes going back and forth. I'm worried that one day one of them will bite someone, or someone's pet.

[Earth_First]

4. Feeding wildlife (*birds included...) is never a good idea...

as it invites unwanted visitors to areas which pose a risk to the community.

As a result, wildlife associate food with human activity and become dependent or willing to approach communities or areas that attract human activity in wild land areas.

Because of this, outdoor recreationists such as myself need to carry added unnecessary weight when we venture into the woods because of what some feel is an otherwise harmless activity.

*Supplemental feeding of birds surrounding migration periods is an acceptable activity; this does not create a pattern of dependency with wild life that would be attracted to regular; habitual feeder activity.

[hunter]

11. I feed birds a limited amount every day as part of my organic gardening.

The activity of little birds at the feeder makes the little birds that eat insects in my garden feel more secure.

The non-native ring-neck doves that show up are like fast food, super-sized, for the predatory birds. We've seen everything here from kestrels to eagles.

Yes, we are modifying the environment, but here we are. This has been an agricultural community for a very long time, not a "natural" environment. I think the way we deal with pests is better than spraying everything with poisonous chemicals.

[Orrex]

5. She must bear responsibility

[Kingofalldems]

6. Here

[Scairp]

7. These people

I really don't understand what THEY don't understand about NOT feeding wildlife, especially wildlife that can rip your head off with one swipe of the paw. I saw a story about one old lady who fed the bears. I believe it was in Colorado but I might be wrong. Anyway, long story short, she had been warned but never actually caught by Fish and Game, so they couldn't arrest her, and she ended up dead, killed by the bears she would not stop feeding. Also an older women, past 60 is all I can recall. I think this is an extreme case of the lonely old cat lady syndrome, except these "cats" will kill you as soon as look at you.

[Enrique]

8. her lawyer found a loophole in the law

it's called the bear clause.

[Orrex]

9. That should protect her from cruller unusual punishment.

[Tom Ripley]

10. Poor old dear, they prefer pic-a-nic baskets

[frwrfpos]

12. that was bad to do

The bears may no longer fear humans and could have to be put down