‘Selfish’ woman fined for luring deer inside her home for snacks
What the buck?
A Colorado woman has been charged for brazenly luring deer inside her home for feeding sessions, as seen in a viral clip posted Monday to the Colorado Parks & Wildlife Twitter page.
The two-minute video — shot by the perpetrator — shows the unnamed Evergreen, Colo., woman coaxing a massive 8-point buck and a doe inside her house with apples, carrots, bananas, bread and cereal.
The woman can be heard calling the animals by pet names a la “Grizzly Man,” as they nibble the treats right out of a carton on her living room table.
“Hi, my angel, come here,” she is heard cooing in the clip. “Hi, sweetie. Hi, my baby. Hi, sweets.”
Needless to say, the would-be deer whisperer has been charged for her venison feeding, an offense that carries a maximum penalty of $100.
Wildlife officials slammed her “egregious” deer delicatessen as “selfish and dangerous, for both animals and people, plus it is illegal. Let wildlife be wild [as] these animals are not pets.”
“You are going to end up unintentionally killing those animals and also putting yourself in harm’s way,” said Area Wildlife Manager Mark Lamb in a press release. “If what you want is a pet or just to connect with an animal, choose a domestic breed that has evolved to live with people.”
Indeed, contrary to what Disney flicks may have you believe, deer have been known to attack, and even kill people.
Not only that, but “if you are training deer to come and stay in your backyard, you are asking mountain lions to be in your neighborhood as well,” Lamb added.
It seems the social-media masses agree with the wildlife official’s statement.
“Years ago I had a neighbor put out a water trough for the deer in our backyards during a drought year,” recounted one Twitter conservationist. “About a week later we had two mountain lions tearing up a deer in her front lawn, she was so traumatized she moved a month later.”
“Yeah, and then it’s the animals fault when they attack smh no sense,” echoed another.
Unfortunately, turning one’s home into a buck stop appears to be quite the trend in Colorado. Wildlife officials reportedly cited a dozen people across Evergreen, Conifer and Bailey for feeding big game in January alone, per this week’s PSA.
“Whether you believe feeding is correct or not, it is against the law,” said Wildlife Officer Scott Murdoch.
