Dear Eric: This is regarding “Also an Animal Lover”, whose neighbor was feeding wild animals in her backyard.
I lived next door to a woman who would feed deer and one day my wife counted 32 deer in our backyard ravaging our flowers and bushes. I called the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and their investigation uncovered that she was also harboring raccoons in her garage and slept with a bear cub in her bedroom! Thankfully the DEC gave her a citation, the animals were removed and her deer feeding was curbed.
Your correspondent needs to do more than just website suggestions; she needs to contact her state environmental authorities to get them to curb her neighbor’s behavior.
– Responsible Animal Lover
Dear Animal Lover: This is extreme and extremely dangerous. In many states, it’s also illegal to feed wild animals, so even if the neighbor is not harboring them in her home, she still puts herself at risk of a citation or fine, in addition to the clear danger presented by some of the animals themselves. If she won’t listen to reason, the authorities need to intervene.
(Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at eric@askingeric.com or P.O. Box 22474, Philadelphia, PA 19110. Follow him on Instagram and sign up for his weekly newsletter at rericthomas.com.)
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