Irresponsible Neighbor

[CariLynn]

Some of you think what I did was harsh, and yes it may of been. I have tried to talk to her over and over of the folly of feeding the animals, she gets so wound up that they are going to starve, they may be hungry, they have babies, etc. and no amount of fact, talking, trying to get her to see reason helped. When I said I was worried about her being bitten or gone after, she always said, " I am a D.C street rat and grew up on the streets, I was raised in a boarding house and survived that." And she would always remind me of the neighbor down the road who encountered a black bear while out walking her dogs 5 YEARS AGO, the bear didn't go after her, so they wouldn't go after us either...

I really like this neighbor, as deep down she has a kind heart when it comes to animals but she does not think. Nor did she care what may happen to MY animals or the diseases that the wildlife could bring in. When she came to help me feed my horses, this is a good example, I have a set rule that my horses DO NOT crowd you as they are large animals and it leads to other behavioral problems. Did she listen? No, to the point my gelding almost bit my young grand daughter because she was allowing him to crowd her and not back and give her space to dump his grain and be respectful. I had to finally sit down with her and tell her, either you follow MY rules or you can't come help me. I also hate giving treats every night, they got them when they did a good job after working or for being good after being treated by the vet, etc. She gave them treats all the time, if I walked out of the barn to check the water or went to gather eggs, she was sneaking them treats. But, much of this I tried to ignore as her life isn't the best and she has had a hard go with her sons. But, there comes a point when you have to draw a line...and I did....

 

[deerman]

Feeding wildlife.........hum.......wild birds so you get a better look....deer to get better look..... other small mammals. Where to draw the line. Guess most would say with any predators.


Ok to feed birds , squirrels these are all wildlife, maybe the neighbor doesn't like squirrels raiding their song bird feeders.

Myself I have land set aside for wildlife, and anyone moving to the country needs to learn to live with them.

No I don't think people should be feeding them. But learn to live with them, yes i trap and kill predators taken my birds, even their numbers need control.

Never understand people moving to the country ,then try to change it to the city life. Get rid of wildlife or farm animals .

Don't bring the city to the country, and don't bring the wildlife to you by feeding them.

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

Quote:
No kidding! There USED to be a cute little farm house next door, just on the other side of my fence....now there's a micro-mansion there...and they HATE my birds, thusly, I have added roosters to capacity!

They don't speak to me at all anymore....works for me!

to them!

 

[Pelican49]

Quote:
OMG - is he now buried somewhere on your property? He would be here. My 36 acres is fenced all around with a big main gate. Yet, last weekend I see 2 teenagers riding bikes across my front yard. What the....? When I asked how they got in and told them to leave they said I couldn't tell them what to do because I'm a renter. Ummm, no I'm not. According to them, neighbor to the west told them they could ride here. <sigh> Little creeps thought they could argue with the old lady and she'd back down. So, they've now met my dogs. Don't think they'll be back.

 

[deerman]

Quote:
No kidding! There USED to be a cute little farm house next door, just on the other side of my fence....now there's a micro-mansion there...and they HATE my birds, thusly, I have added roosters to capacity!

They don't speak to me at all anymore....works for me!

to them!

Yes then those that have their horse , but don't want any stinking cows around. To me both their **** smells the same.

 

[FarmerJamie]

From last year, a story about a woman who won't heed advice about not feeding the bears.

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13034073?IADID=Search-www.denverpost.com-www.denverpost.com

she showed everyone trying to help who was the boss in her home, she fed the bear, literally....

Intervention in this case is the right thing to do, IMHO

 

[agnes_day]

ok...if i ever saw a bear in my yard, i would absolutely just die of a heart attack right then and there.

 

[thegoldengirls]

Wow, can't believe how harsh some of these comments are.
Bottom line.... she's not doing the animals any favors by feeding them like that.
They're not meant to rely on a feed bag for their dinner. It's definitely not a proper diet for them.
And what happens when she's drawn in so many that she can no longer "afford" to feed them. Then they go off and try to find the next easy meal because they don't know any better.
I LOVE wildlife, and we do "feed" them naturally by planting lots of apple trees and berry bushes on our land. At the same time it provides shelter for the smaller animals in winter.
Unfortunately, it sometimes takes something "bad" to happen before some people see the fault in their actions.

Hopefully you and your neighbor will be able to meet somewhere in the middle.
Best of luck to you!

 

[Ibicella]

I think you absolutely did the right thing.

I wish I could say I'm surprised that she kept feeding even after her property was damaged by bears.

Besides leaving her and your property open to damage, she's NOT helping the wildlife by feeding them. All she's doing is making it harder for them to go find food. Eventually they become so dependent on humans they forget HOW to find their own food. What happens then? They get shot after picking the wrong humans to feed from.

Not even the center of a black hole is as dense as some people's heads.

 

[noodleroo]

Well here's the thing..... Feeding migratory wild birds is a good idea. They eat, drink and move on. Hummingbirds, for example; they need to gorge themselves and build up strength to migrate across the Gulf of Mexico to their wintering grounds. It just so happens that I live right where the 'runway' area is located. Is this kind of feeding supplement OK? I think so, for MIGRATORY birds.

Local wildlife is another story completely. When local wildlife lose fear of humans, it is almost always a death sentence. I've seen it many times; well meaning and good hearted but ignorant people feed the poor 'bear' or 'aligator' or any other predator that will never be 'tamed', invariably that predator will end up in too close proximity of some other person and will be killed. It may be cute to throw some scraps to the aligators so that when they see you they swim over. Not so cute when they grab grandma's little poodle for their afternoon snack and start eyeing the grandchildren on the pier.

There is a difference. You might try explaining to your neighbor the difference. If she is truly a caring person, she'll educate herself on life in the country.