Washington Votes Forum

So a simple "Don't feed the animals" sign isn't enough -- we need a new law to punish the offenders?  Great.  Can't you think of anything better to do with your time in Olympia?

It's real easy for someone living in a cosmopolitan area to tell everyone else to; don't feed the deer, don't feed the turkeys, don't feed the bear, don't feed the squirrels, don't feed the birds.  Bet they didn't think of those last two.

Wildlife is wildlife.  People get real!  There are real issues to worry about; that concern PEOPLE!!!

 No, a sign is not enough for some people.  They don't realize that they are "killing our wildlife with their kindness"  You may think differently about this bill if you could see the sick deer in the herd in our neighborhood with ugly hanging boils, skin mites that cause their hair to fall out and eventually kill them, etc.  Deer transmit disease very quickly from bowls of food placed out for them  They need to remain wild and forage for their food in a natural way.  They are not pets!  Eventually these herds will be passing disease on to us.

 Yes wildlife is wildlife and needs to remain that way.  But those who choose to try to tame them and make them their pets by feeding are destroying the wildlife.  These creatures belong to all of us and if it takes our legislature to protect them, then so be it.

Give me a break.  I've lived around wildlife all my life.  I know when to push back from the dinner table.  I also know if, when, and how to feed animals that inhabit my land.  The politicians in Mount Olympia feel a need to manage EVERY aspect of our lives.  Yet one minute they say "No deficit." and a week later say that we are billions in arrears. 

You trust them to decide who is intelligent enough to feed a raccoon?

 Ok, this one's a bit of overkill, as usual.  I forsee this as banning the feeding of birds during the winters too.  It'll work sort of like the No Trapping law that passed a few years ago.  People can't use traps to catch the moles in their yards.  A bit of an oversight perhaps?

The Washington Fish and Wildlife already has regulations against feeding bears, elk, ducks, and geese.  Feeding the deer is allowed here, but it is discouraged within city limits in most places, as it should be.  The people feeding the deer are probably the same ones complaining about the deer eating everything from their gardens. 

Deer feeding is a good way to manage deer herds through hunting in problem areas.  It give hunters a better opportunity to harvest a deer, thus reducing the number of problem deer.  Deer living in town have it good.  With all the various gardens around it's a veritable buffet for them, no need to feed them.

If they want to regulate this it should say something about feeding animals in town.  The animals out of town usually are not a problem and this bill should not cover them.

 We live in the forest interface and coexist nicely with the wildlife.  We have nothing against feeding hungry wildlife, just so long as it does not impinge upon the rights and peace of others. 

The problem is that we have a neighbor who feeds the racoons.  These racoons cross our property to get to the food.  As a result one of our dogs was attacked and nearly killed.  One of our cats was taken.  This neighbor refuses to listen to our suggestions and keeps the racoons returning.  Since he is doing nothing illegal we have no recourse, and our only solution is to kill the racoons when we see them on our property.  Killing anything is repulsive to us, but we refuse to yield up our pets.  If the racoons were not being fed they would forage in the woods and our pets would not be threatened, but the neighbor selfishly ignores the problems he has caused so that he can watch the "cute" coons.

Speaking of "cute" animals, we also need to realize that racoons are the highest carriers of rabies in the wild - even higher than bats.

It was my understanding (perhaps wrongly) that this bill did not apply to feeding the birds.  Even if the bill does include birds, try to imagine a neighbor who attracts sea gulls and pigeons to the point that they "whitewash" everything in sight.

There are no pat answers and no legislation that can solve poor judgement or lack of consideration.  However, there has to be some regulation to prevent the excesses that occur.

Certainly very few people would want to "destroy" wildlife, but if protecting wildlife is really the goal, how will this proposed legislation accomplish anything?  Who will enforce this?  Will the police hide in the bushes to watch for people feeding wildlife?  Is that the best use of their time?  Will observers testify in court that they saw someone feeding the wildlife?  Although someone may have the best of intentions, at this point I have to believe that making a law such as this might only make someone feel good without really solving whatever problem exists.

This bill would give the division of Wildlife the ability to contact someone and ask them to stop feeding.  It is my understanding that they would do so only when contacted of a violation.  The feeder would then have 2 days to remove the feed and if no more feeding is done, that would end it.  I personally have experienced a steady deline in the health of the herd in our neighborhood.  We are avid lovers of nature  and when I see what this feeding is doing to the deer, it sickens me.  We are also experiencing an increase of coyotes and cougers, drawn in by the huge domesticated herd.     

 OK, I have to agree the point of taming and making wildlife pets.  I detest Bambi eating out of the extended arm of the human do-gooder just as when I see someone with a handful of sunflower seeds inviting birds to eat out of their hand in their backyard.  I personally do not believe in feeding wildlife to make them pets.  That's my personal opinion.  I want to keep them wild.  If you want to learn how to dissassociate the act of human feeding of wildlife verses the encouraging the natural foraging instinct of wildlife, without associating the human presence with food, use your common sense.  It's easy. 

Is this something that goes beyond a person's personal choice that's needs to be regulated by law?  Some folks may think that feeding birds or squirrels in their backyard should be exempt.  There are a great many people who enjoy this wildlife activity.  There are also a great many folks who enjoy throwing out some corn or hay for the deer or elk.  Are these folks to be labeled criminals because of their wildlife preference?

Come on!  If you want to live in town then do it.  If you want to live in the country or the "woods", then do it.  Have a little respect for your neighbor.

If I had my way, nobody would have dogs and cats out of the city limits.  They destroy wildlife but that's my personal opinion.  Should I have my way by making it a law?

 Feeding wildlife - deer in particular - is dramatically increasing the motor vehicle accident rate in residential neighborhoods.  Those who feed deer are responsible for these accidents, and they should be held accountable through this legislation.

I’m reminded of a couple that I knew who lived up in the hills of Portola Valley south of San Francisco who would see an occasional raccoon walk through their yard and thought gee, I would love to be able to have this rather illusive creature take some food from our hand.  So they started putting peanuts on their porch and would watch from behind their screen door as the raccoons would eventually come up to the porch to get the peanuts.  It was so cute how they would use their articulate little paws to open the shells and eat the contents.

Finally, they got to the point of taking the peanuts right from their hand and soon they had several raccoons coming around doing the same thing. They thought this was so cool and this opportunity so special.

Then one day, they went to town, left the peanuts on the kitchen counter with just the screen door closed. When they came back home the screen door was torn open, the cupboards were all open and food was strewn all over the house. One cat was missing and one was found dead after literally being torn to shreds. They were both shocked and heartbroken ……He then proceeded to shoot and kill every raccoon that ever came around for peanuts again.

Moral of the story: These people were stupid, Raccoons are smart and above all…. Don’t Feed Wild Animals!!  Not so cute….In total, 7 animals died including their two cats!

 test test test

The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife already has laws and rules governing the feeding and "taming" of wild animals, if anyone would care to check it out.  Are we to stop feeding birds in the back yard with feeders (humming birds), too? This Bill is pointless. WDFW just has been so short staffed with the budget cuts because of the over spending done by this brilliant group we currently have in charge, that they are having a hard time enforcing these laws.  Now to top it off our Governor wants to combine the Department of Fish and Game with the Washington State Patrol!!!  As if THAT is going to solve anything.  Then we will have 2 groups unhappy, dissatisfied, and unable to adequately do their jobs.  What a real bonus THAT will be!! Let's just have everyone running around chasing their tails.  But then, isn't that what government is all about?

I noticed the definition of "wildlife" in this bill is very specific to a few animals often found in urban areas and does not reference those involved in backyard bird feeding (except perhaps for turkeys). In general, this bill appears to be a preventative measure, designed to try and stop interactions such as the raccoon incident from occurring. Makes sense but I doubt we have any funding to provide enforcement at this time.

 Raccoons are not the highest carriers of rabies in Washington State, get your facts straight. Responsible pet owners don't leave their pets unattended outside to be snatched up by raptors, coyotes etc. Raccoons coexist with cats just fine but nice imagination. I love how people leave their pets blameless in a Raccoon vs dog encounter I have known both animals for many years and have NEVER seen a raccoon confront a dog, they WILL defend themselves. You are ignorant and building VERY bad Karma just killing the raccoons when they walk accross your yard. It is also illegal for you to do that if they are not harming anything at the time so good luck to you and SHAME on you!

 OK.  So big city yuppies can feed their birds and squirrels in their backyards with impunity, on the belief these creatures (wildlife) do not become habituated to human feeding.  That's real 'Green'.

The old country bumkin gets nailed for feeding bambi, unless he or she has a special permit from some bogus director.

And for any of you that want to see the vet bill I received for the mauling my cocker spaniel received from a 30 lb. raccoon on my back porch, I will send it to you.  That bill included an updated RABIES vaccine because a high percentage of raccons do carry rabies.

I know what you're thinking but NO.  My dog was fed on the 'inside'.

But what the 'hay'?  Let's don't be tolerant of each other.  Right?  That's what's at the root of all this.

The Bill really is as clear as mud.  It will be interesting to see just how it is actually put into law and how it is enforced, if it can be with these budget cuts. Once the Game Laws come out we will know how it impacts hunting. I'm sure many of you could cae less, until the bears and cougars come calling in your back yard because the populations have out grown their habitat.  But, that's another thread.

 Fear based speeches based on ignorance hardly leave room for tolerance please educate yourself on the incidence of rabies in Washinton State at www.doh.wa.gov/notify/guidlines/pdf/rabies.pdf you wil see that the ONLY non bat rabies cases were a Llama,Horse,cat and a Dog. Not one single solitary Raccoon listed hmmmm.

 Humankind have always (since the days in the caves) enjoyed the company of wild animals hence our own pets. Pets sprang from their wild parents. Silly wishy washy humans!

 It is sad when dogs and raccoons tangle. I hear many a tale that someones dog killed a raccoon. The person telling the story doesn't blink an eye at the thought of it.  Dogs are NOT blameless in these tangles I have personally seen a little rat terrier tear off across the yard to attack a raccoon that was minding his business, the raccoon ran up a tree of course. 

As our fat greedy society continues to plow down forests and think single mindedly we will never all agree on this subject. As long as we cook our yummy meals with their scents wafting through the air we will have wildlife come a callin.

 The wildlife was on your property before your house was put there, they aren't coming around they are staying around. I feel bad that the raccoon didn't get a trip to the vet too he had to go crawl away and suffer.

I am for  BILL 1885 only to keep raccoons from running into more trouble than they deserve. The person feeding them may love them but they may have an evil neighbor with a baseball bat that illegally beats the raccoons because he is a sick disgusting future Jeffery Daumer. I am glad that what goes around TRULY comes around and those kind of people WILL eventually have to receive their just desserts.

Not concerned about rabies in Racoons, concerned about internal parasites that will kill children. Areas where Racoons defecate are prime sites to contract internal worms  fatal to children. As log as these sites are dispersed, low risk, start to concentrate, creates a problem. Why would any one take them off the lists ? The bill isn't to address Rabies.