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Letter to the editor

Duck if you feed wild animals

New rules make it illegal to feed them on private land. That includes squirrels and our feathered friends.

By ANNE LINDBERG, Times Staff Writer
Published November 18, 2007

KENNETH CITY- Residents of this small town might want to take down their bird feeders and stop throwing the occasional peanut to the neighborhood squirrel or risk violating a new Kenneth City ordinance.

The new rule expands an ordinance that prohibits the feeding of wild animals on public property. The change makes it a violation to feed wild animals on private property as well: "It shall be unlawful for any person in the town to feed or distribute grain or food of any kind or nature to any wild flock of birds, fowl, including chickens or ducks, livestock or mammals of any kind or nature, whether or not they tend to assemble or herd themselves together in a concentrated area."

Before the vote, the debate focused on the feeding of Muscovy ducks, with the implication that it would apply only to people who give food to the ducks. But Kenneth City Town Council member Wanda Dudley, the lone vote against the ordinance, made it clear that the rule was broad.

Dudley said she had contacted a lawyer who formerly worked for Pinellas County. The attorney read the proposed ordinance and "confirmed" that it included bird feeders and animals other than Muscovy ducks.

Dudley said she was also concerned that the ordinance would infringe on the rights of landowners to do pretty much what they wished on their own property. She also noted that no one had complained about ducks or other animal nuisances in the month between the preliminary and final vote.

Dudley said the conversation at a previous meeting indicated that it applied only to Muscovies. That's not the way she interpreted it and she wanted to double-check. The lawyer said it did apply to all wild animals, not just Muscovies.

Dudley's arguments and those of the 15 residents who spoke against the ordinance failed to sway the rest of the council. Council member Al Carrier read an excerpt from a brochure put out by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals that said it was cruel to feed wild animals. Carrier neglect-ed to add that PETA has said that once the animals have gotten used to being fed, it is cruel to stop feeding them.

In the early part of Wednesday evening, the atmosphere was a mixture of tension and jocularity.

Council members were so concerned about the mass of opponents that they had an off-duty Kenneth City police officer at the back of the room to keep order, and the acting police chief sat at the dais next to the town clerk and council. Some people carried the yard signs that had sprung up all over town in the weeks before the vote.

As the 15 opponents spoke, occasional chuckles broke out and each speaker was applauded.

Catherine French, who said she was also known as the "duck lady," spoke passionately of the ducks as beautiful animals created by God. Passing the ordinance, she said, "is like saying to God, 'You made a big ... mistake by making them.' "

French reminded the council that this is America, where people have freedoms, and not a country run during the "Hitler era."

Larry Hauft said the ordinance would not only infringe on property rights but would pit neighbor against neighbor in reporting violations.

"Please quit embarrassing Kenneth City," Hauft said.

Former council member Teresa Zemaitis came down on the side of the duck supporters, even though she conceded that the feathered critters "can be a pain in the butt sometimes."

"There is an ordinance on the books. It is not being enforced. That's what the trouble is," Zemaitis said. She also reminded the audience that, if they did not like the outcome, to "just remember that come election time."

Three people spoke in support of the ordinance, saying the ducks are a nuisance and create a mess. One was both applauded and booed.

All the humor went out of the evening when the ordinance passed. As some of the duck lovers filed out of the council chambers, they made comments: "You didn't listen." "Are you deaf or what?" "You won't be in office long." "This is a personal agenda." "They're crabby up there." "This is the antiwildlife city of America."

They stood just outside the council chambers as they discussed their next move. Paul Lyons urged them to file a complaint with the state Ethics Commission. Others talked of fielding one or more candidates in the March 11 election.

Qualifying opens Dec. 14 and ends at noon Dec. 21.

[Last modified November 17, 2007, 22:01:50]