Don't Feed the Bears

[Waumbek]

New Hampshire man fined in bear shooting

The Associated Press

In what the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department says could be a precedent-setting case, the state has won a conviction against a man for shooting a black bear raiding a bird feeder in his back yard. Fish and Game Lt. Doug Gralenski said last week that Jocelyn Labonville of Shelburne, N.H., had complained twice to conservation officers that a black bear was raiding his bird feeders and he was concerned for his grandchildren's safety. Gralenski said Labonville was told to stop feeding birds and the bear problem would go away, but he shot and killed the bear while it fed at his bird feeder June 14. "Birdseed is not birdseed to a bear, it's bear seed," Gralenski said. "The case boils down to this: If you insist on feeding birds or purposely create a situation that attracts bears, you can't just kill that bear."
Labonville was convicted Tuesday in Gorham District Court of taking wildlife during a closed season. He was fined $240 and will lose his hunting license for one year. Several states, including Vermont, have laws prohibiting direct and indirect feeding of black bears. New Hampshire's Fish and Game Department is researching such legislation but has not formally proposed rules regarding the feeding of black bears, Gralenski said. Laws regarding protection of property from animal damage give New Hampshire homeowners the right to dispatch bears "causing substantial property damage." But "a bear being shot as it raids a backyard bird feeder does not meet the intent of the property damage law," Gralenski said. The case, Gralenski said, is the first in New Hampshire to address that issue, and likely will set a precedent regarding what constitutes wildlife damage.

 

[dug]

Rather interesting. If the bear raided your garden, would that count as feeding the bears? How about if it ate your cat?

 

[Waumbek]

Rather interesting. If the bear raided your garden, would that count as feeding the bears? How about if it ate your cat?

Interesting questions, but a bear has never raided my garden, just the garbage on the few occasions when I have mistakenly left it out. They don't seem to like fresh vegetables or, by the time the veggies are out, so are the wild berries, which they prefer. Only a fisher has ever eaten my cat, in fact, two of them. But I spent years attracting blue birds to nesting boxes, finally succeeded, only to have bears knock over the boxes and eat the nestlings. I thought it was a fluke, repeated the drill the next year, to the same end. That, I decided, was indeed "feeding the bears," not to mention screwing the blue birds, so I took the boxes down. My phoebes nest and raise broods in very reachable places, usually under low eaves of shed or barn, but the bears have never bothered them.

 

[forestgnome]

It's just plain cruel that the person would repeatedly feed the bear, then shoot it when it came back for more.

A bear trashed a bird feeder over my deck, which I thought would be out of reach. I moved it to a safer spot. The same bear came back the next day looking in the same place, but he didn't score because he couldn't reach it. We haven't seen him since.

 

[grouseking]

New Hampshire man fined in bear shooting

The Associated Press

In what the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department says could be a precedent-setting case, the state has won a conviction against a man for shooting a black bear raiding a bird feeder in his back yard. Fish and Game Lt. Doug Gralenski said last week that Jocelyn Labonville of Shelburne, N.H., had complained twice to conservation officers that a black bear was raiding his bird feeders and he was concerned for his grandchildren's safety. Gralenski said Labonville was told to stop feeding birds and the bear problem would go away, but he shot and killed the bear while it fed at his bird feeder June 14. "Birdseed is not birdseed to a bear, it's bear seed," Gralenski said. "The case boils down to this: If you insist on feeding birds or purposely create a situation that attracts bears, you can't just kill that bear."
Labonville was convicted Tuesday in Gorham District Court of taking wildlife during a closed season. He was fined $240 and will lose his hunting license for one year. Several states, including Vermont, have laws prohibiting direct and indirect feeding of black bears. New Hampshire's Fish and Game Department is researching such legislation but has not formally proposed rules regarding the feeding of black bears, Gralenski said. Laws regarding protection of property from animal damage give New Hampshire homeowners the right to dispatch bears "causing substantial property damage." But "a bear being shot as it raids a backyard bird feeder does not meet the intent of the property damage law," Gralenski said. The case, Gralenski said, is the first in New Hampshire to address that issue, and likely will set a precedent regarding what constitutes wildlife damage.

I'm confused by this all. Morally, I am against the shooting of black bears, or any animals for that matter. It is definitely cruel. On this side, I completely disagree with what the person did. But at the same time, what is the law? It sounds very gray to me, and does Fish and Game have the right to fine this person for shooting a bear who she felt threatened her grandkids? That question...I don't know. If there is a an actual law I'd like to know because that would make things easier to sort out.

I wonder what would have happened to her if she didn't have a hunting license in the first place??


grouseking

 

[forestgnome]

IIRC, the shooter called F@G twice prior to complain about the bear, and both times they instructed to remove the feeders. This was the third time F@G received a call, but when they arrived the bear was dead.

My take...if the shooter was able to shoot the bear safely without hurting the kids, he could just as well have scared it off with warning shots. Obviously, he repeatedly fed the bear and repeatedly ignored the recommendation of F@G. Common sense ain't all that common.

I highly doubt the shooter would have been prosecuted if not for the repeated warnings and recommendations that were ignored.

 

[skibones]

I thought it was against the law to attract the bears--this case the bird feeders were the attraction. Why isn't he get fined for having the bird feeders out. I called the Fish and Game early summer because one of my neighbors loves to feed the birds and this causes bears and coyotes to come visit. I thought they said it was a felony to attract bears and because the feeders were there,even though they were there for the birds, it was a bear attraction. It seems so selfish to feed the birds this time of the year. The feeders are there not so much for the birds, but for the humans who like to look at the birds. This time of the year the birds can find plenty of food on their own. The Fish and Game recommended no feeders out from April 1st to Nov.1st (or Dec 1st,I can't remember).

 

[Maddy]

does Fish and Game have the right to fine this person for shooting a bear who she felt threatened her grandkids?
grouseking

My thinking on this is that
1. He couldn't have been that worried about the grandkids if he was told to get rid of the bird feeders and he kept them up anyway.
2. Grandkids aside for a minute, he deliberately baited the bear and then shot him after being instructed not to.
3. I am also considering the "macho" option. He had full knowledge that the bear was attracted to his bird feeders. He will now set himself up to appear like a hero to the kids. Grandpa feeds the birds, bear comes to eat, grandpa kills bear and "saves" the little rug rats from the jaws of death. It all backfired though. He's not a hero now. Instead he gets to pay a nice big fine and loses his hunting license for a year.
Personally, I think he should have also been charged with child endangerment
He could be a candidate for the "Darwin Awards". What kind of idiot would deliberately bait bears in their backyard and then invite their grandkids over???

 

[sapblatt]

I think this person (and I use the word person very loosley here) is more of a danger to his grandchildren than the bear was...

 

[giggy]

people routinely kill mice and squirrels in their house?

good points - but lets remember - not everyone is as in touch with nature as the people on this board, or regards nature the same way as us - most in this world could care less about a dead bear - esp one in your backyard.

this fella is likely ignorant of bear feeding habits, bears in general etc.. - not saying what s/he did was right,(in fact I am glad s/he was arrested for this) but if s/he had a fear of bears and was really scared for his/her grandkids - I can see how this would happen. - again, not saying its right.


Part of me has sympathy for the "my home is my castle" thought, but I don't like seeing people kiiling wildlife at will either -

tough one to answer.

people routinely kill mice, and squirrels in their house and garden.

just offering the devils advocate POV here.

 

[KMartman]

good points - but lets remember - not everyone is as in touch with nature as the people on this board, or regards nature the same way as us - most in this world could care less about a dead bear - esp one in your backyard.

this fella is likely ignorant of bear feeding habits, bears in general etc.. - not saying what s/he did was right,(in fact I am glad s/he was arrested for this) but if s/he had a fear of bears and was really scared for his/her grandkids - I can see how this would happen. - again, not saying its right.

just offering the devils advocate POV here.

This I understand...devils advocate is good for conversation, however this guy HAD to know bears habits. He HAD a hunting license, he lived in NH, I just can't buy the fact that he "didn't know" he knew exactly what he was doing. I agree with the "hero" theory.

Just wrong.

M

 

[Dugan]

..., however this guy HAD to know bears habits. He HAD a hunting license, he lived in NH...

I fail to see how having a hunting license or living in NH automatically confer knowledge about the habits of bears.

With all due respect, out of curiousity, was there a question about this article - or was the intent to bring it to a wider audience?

 

[Maddy]

This is true. But wasn't the man told to "stop feeding the bears and the problem would go away" by the conservation officer?
So even though he might claim to be ignorant after he was "educated" he should have abided the instruction if he cared that much about getting the bear off his property.

 

[giggy]

I fail to see how having a hunting license or living in NH automatically confer knowledge about the habits of bears.

great point - or assumes the person in question respects the habits the same way we do here.

My non-outdoorsy freinds (some who own firearms, but don't hunt per se) wouldn't hesitate to do the same thing as describe above. There are no bears per se in MA/RI, but there are other animals that come near/into the house. It seems to me he felt he shouldn't have to remove the feeder from his property no matter what - (I do agree that he should have just removed the damn thing)

I know in RI - folks in the non urban areas, take shots at coyotes - and its pretty common. In fact - know of one instance where a cop was called to a house and he took shots at the coyote - (missed by the way)

how does a coyote,raccoon or chipmunk differ from a bear? b/c one has a law protecting it? (serious question, I don't actually know the regs) - I do know in RI, as long as your so many feet from another dwelling, you can shoot at will basically.


Again - I think this person was in the wrong - but I can see the flipside of the argument

 

[Maddy]

Very well said. He made a decision to do what HE WANTED TO DO no matter if it jeapordized the grandkids or anyone else who happened upon his property. He obviously didn't give two hoots about the bear.
He would teach that bear a lesson and be a hero to the children.
I wouldn't be suprised if he still believes he did the right thing and the bear got his just deserts.
I hope lots of people read this article and think twice about doing the same thing.

 

[KMartman]

I fail to see how having a hunting license or living in NH automatically confer knowledge about the habits of bears.

With all due respect, out of curiousity, was there a question about this article - or was the intent to bring it to a wider audience?

I dont know if you are a hunter or not, or if you know a great deal of hunters, but I know all the hunters that I knnow have at least a basic understanding of bear habits. In fact id be willing to argue that a lot more people than you think have a basic knowledge of bear habits.

I know that with the recent encroachment into bear territory by humans has produced many a news article on basic bear habits, even all the way down here in Jersey, so i'd assume that those same articles are in local NH papers as well, but that IS an assumption. Seems common sense anymore to me...

M

 

[Waumbek]

I fail to see how having a hunting license or living in NH automatically confer knowledge about the habits of bears.
With all due respect, out of curiousity, was there a question about this article - or was the intent to bring it to a wider audience?

If you mean to ask whether I thought the man was right or not, no I do not think he was right. "My home is my castle" although when I knowingly invite guests onto the estate it's not cool to shoot them because they took me up. Anybody in northern NH in their right mind, hiker, hunter or otherwise, gave up bird-feeding in the summer long ago. The few who still do so probably keep it quiet; they certainly don't shoot the bears they want to attract. One could argue that they are condemning the bear to a deadly lack of fear of humans, but that's outside the scope of what I was thinking about. The wider context for posting this article is the increasing human-bear interactions in NH (and probably everywhere else in the northeast). In this article, the interaction was suburban, but so-called wilderness or back country interactions in NH are increasing as well, and it doesn't hurt to be aware of this and think through one's responsibilities and responses. Several municipalities in the Franconia area have cracked down on open garbage containers (dumpsters and the like) because it was putting humans and bears on a collision course. A number of campsites in WMNF now have "bear boxes" to store food in. To me, this is a reminder to be as careful as I can at home and out in the woods not to "feed the bears." That's all.

 

[giggy]

Well said and well intentioned Waumbek - I admit to straying bit off topic - (as I can do from time to time...)

your 100% right - it is common sense.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

There was a nearly identical incident in the Roxbury/Northfield, VT area recently (don't have the article in front of me). A man was charged by Fish & Game after he killed a bear he claimed charged his girlfriend. Similar situation as to birdfeeders - had been told to remove it, etc. In the article he was quoted as saying he had taken it down; the game warden countered by saying there was fresh bird seed on the lawn.

I haven't seen any resolution to the case. Most states prohibit baiting of wild animals, although it's legal in some states/provinces. The subject is a real flashpoint for many people.

 

[Dugan]

I know all the hunters that I knnow have at least a basic understanding of bear habits

Then there was the time, many years ago, that I was out riding a shod horse. For you non-horsy folks, that means the horse was wearing metal shoes, very much changes the sound of their hooves on the ground. In addition, I'd tied sleigh bells to the bridle. Now granted, perhaps I should not have been out trail riding during hunting season - but a shod horse, with sleigh bells on a traveled dirt road seemed fairly safe to me. We walked around a curve in the road and came face to face with a licensed hunter aiming a gun at us.

Perhaps the hunters you know are better than that. However, it is a leap of logic to assume that because the ones you know are, that all are. It takes all kinds to make a world.