Minnesota man faces 90 days in jail for feeding birds in his own backyard

[rambone]

You can't even throw birdseed in your yard without getting arrested. This guy faces 90 days in jail for feeding wild animals. More innocent behavior criminalized; more property rights out the window.



Man Accused Of Breaking Bird Feeding Facing Jail and Fines

As Brown prepares to fight for a hobby he can no longer enjoy, he also realizes a not guilty verdict is not necessarily a win.“I promise they’ll never see a bird feeder in my yard. It’s ruined it for me. I can’t ever do it again,” said Brown.

Feeding them from your hand will get you solitary confinement.
​

 

[gunman41mag]

Can't believe in AMERICA you feed the birds & you become a jailbird

 

[redneckmedic]

In Bloomington, it is legal to use bird feeders — as long as they are 5 feet off the ground. Neighbors and the charges allege that Craig Brown was throwing feed onto the ground, which is illegal.

I don't agree with the law, but ....if you do the crime, you pay the time.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

O.K., I'll do it, someone has to:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBmhA6z6ieY[/ame]

 

[redneckmedic]

O.K., I'll do it, someone has to:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WNrx2jq184[/ame]

 

[littletommy]

Do the neighbors of this guy really lack any trace of a life that they would rat him out for feeding birds? My god, I think America is in worse shape than I imagined.

 

[pirate]

Gotta wonder just how much it was irritating a neighbor to go narc on him. Pretty lame.

 

[joslar15]

11 year-old girl saves woodpecker from cat, Mom gets $535 fine ...

... and possible jail time for violation of the Federal Migratory Bird Act.

Federal Migratory Bird Act

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act makes it illegal for anyone to take, possess, import, export, transport, sell, purchase, barter, or offer for sale, purchase, or barter, any migratory bird, or the parts, nests, or eggs of such a bird except under the terms of a valid permit issued pursuant to Federal regulations.

Young Girl Saves A Baby Bird, Mom Gets $535 Ticket | Video | TheBlaze.com

 

[Benny]

Seems reasonable.

 

[Delmar]

I don't agree with the law, but ....if you do the crime, you pay the time.

So you believe in upholding unjust laws?

 

[Expat]

There are several reasons to not put feed on the ground. As mentioned in the article it draws rodents. It also makes the little birds more susceptible to being grabbed by cats and such.

I agree it is a stupid law. I also don't like rats (snitches) either.

 

[RockofStrength]

I would hold that it doesn't even apply, as he wasn't feeding the animals via a ground based feeder but was rather throwing the feed itself, outside of any containment or delivery system, onto the ground. Heck, if he's over 5ft tall he qualifies as a legal bird feeder, does he not?

 

[Jake46184]

So you believe in upholding unjust laws?

Absolutely. We don't get to pick and choose which laws we obey and which ones we do not. You can work to change the ones you find "unjust" but deciding to just ignore it isn't an option. If everyone did so, the guy living next door to you might decide that some idiotic law that lets you keep a gun in your house is unjust. The guy across the street might decide that the law which lets you fly a POW-MIA flag in your yard is unjust and he might remove it for you. The guy down the street doesn't like your bumper sticker and he may feel it's ok to spray paint it one night. If you get to pick and choose, so does everyone else. It would render about 90% of the currently codified laws moot.

As for not putting seed on the ground, there are valid reasons for not allowing it. If everyone in this guy's neighborhood did it, you wouldn't have to wait very long to find out why it's illegal. The story was likely written to sensationalize (I never read them) but it's likely this guy was told multiple times. Code enforcement for these things never starts with an arrest threat. Laws like these, while sometimes hard to understand, usually exist to save the simple-minded from themselves.

 

[gunman41mag]

I would hold that it doesn't even apply, as he wasn't feeding the animals via a ground based feeder but was rather throwing the feed itself, outside of any containment or delivery system, onto the ground. Heck, if he's over 5ft tall he qualifies as a legal bird feeder, does he not?

My mom feeds hundreds of birds in her yard, and who is going to tell an 84 year old woman she can't do that

 

[RichardR]

It's the endless stream of stupid crap like this that makes some folks question the legitimacy of our entire system.

 

[Benny]

It's the endless stream of stupid crap like this that makes some folks question the legitimacy of our entire system.

I know someone who received less time for killing someone in a DUI car crash.

 

[96firephoenix]

Do the neighbors of this guy really lack any trace of a life that they would rat him out for feeding birds? My god, I think America is in worse shape than I imagined.

part of the whole "see something, Say something" initiative.

edit: if people in the 50's-70's had believed in following unjust laws, the civil rights movement never would have happened.

 

[down3green]

It would render about 90% of the currently codified laws moot.

.


On the surface, I'd say that's a good thing. We are way over-governed as it is. I surely don't need to be told how much water I can use to flush my toilet, how to keep an eye on my tire pressure or how many mpg my car has to get, what kind of light bulbs I can buy, OR how to feed the freaking birds.


.

 

[Delmar]

Absolutely. We don't get to pick and choose which laws we obey and which ones we do not. You can work to change the ones you find "unjust" but deciding to just ignore it isn't an option. If everyone did so, the guy living next door to you might decide that some idiotic law that lets you keep a gun in your house is unjust. The guy across the street might decide that the law which lets you fly a POW-MIA flag in your yard is unjust and he might remove it for you. The guy down the street doesn't like your bumper sticker and he may feel it's ok to spray paint it one night. If you get to pick and choose, so does everyone else. It would render about 90% of the currently codified laws moot.

As for not putting seed on the ground, there are valid reasons for not allowing it. If everyone in this guy's neighborhood did it, you wouldn't have to wait very long to find out why it's illegal. The story was likely written to sensationalize (I never read them) but it's likely this guy was told multiple times. Code enforcement for these things never starts with an arrest threat. Laws like these, while sometimes hard to understand, usually exist to save the simple-minded from themselves.

So if they passed a law against kissing your wife, you would stop?

 

[Caleb]

So, if I feed my legal bird feeder which sits 5+ feet off the ground and feed drops to the ground as a result from the feeding the birds... You ae saying I could get arrested if the birds go down to the ground and eat the fallen feeds?