Lady feeding raptors - law on my side?

[Jmanvanatta]

well now i feel dumb

sorry all of you

 

[Justducky2006]

Hello,

There is a lady in the farm next to us who boards her horse in the barn there - but each day she comes to take care of her horses, she also brings meat to feed the raptors.

I spoke with her today and she said that she had a pet Red-Tailed Hawk and accused me of killing it. I simply walked over there to let her know that when she feeds the raptors it keeps them around and they are going after our chickens.

I looked up the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission laws, and feeding Red-Tailed hawks is not illegal, but today she was trying to feed an Osprey and that is illegal. Now we have them in our yard stalking our chickens (who are pinned and free range under a very watchful eye, after we lost multiple to the hawks; the problem of loosing the chickens began when this lady started feeding these birds) - they also stalk our cats and small dogs.

I also know that in The State of Florida I have the right to farm, and to sell my farm byproducts to make a living, and by this lady feeding these birds it is having a negative effect on our income. These birds have taken over ten of our hens and two roosters - over the past year... since this lady has been around.

So, after speaking with her and having her be fairly rude to me - I believe I will contact the FWC and let them know she has been feeding Osprey (which is illegal).

Should I also contact The Florida Agricultural Department and see if we can do anything about her actions causing a negative impact on my right to farm?

I'm not siding with either of you, but if you raise chickens in an unprotected pen then you will have problems even if no one is feeding the predatory birds. With all the building of new homes, it is pushing them out into other areas to feed. I used to raise free range chickens, ducks and geese, I would have to watch them get taken in a daily till I built enclosures around them. No one was feeding the birds, but yet I was still losing my farm birds. Now, the minute they know there at prey in abundance, they will continually hunt them till they are gone, then they go elsewhere. So, you see, even if they were not being fed, they would still be coming to get the chickens.

 

[FrostRanger]

I'm not siding with either of you, but if you raise chickens in an unprotected pen then you will have problems even if no one is feeding the predatory birds. With all the building of new homes, it is pushing them out into other areas to feed. I used to raise free range chickens, ducks and geese, I would have to watch them get taken in a daily till I built enclosures around them. No one was feeding the birds, but yet I was still losing my farm birds. Now, the minute they know there at prey in abundance, they will continually hunt them till they are gone, then they go elsewhere. So, you see, even if they were not being fed, they would still be coming to get the chickens.

This thread is over 12 years old, i'm sure the problem got resolved one way or another