Every year, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation releases a reminder to residents about black bears on the move and tips on how to keep them from coming too close to your house or sticking around in your neighborhood too long.

Bears who find human foods easy to get to, will keep coming back and become difficult to get rid of. Plus, they may lose their natural fear of humans. That’s not a good thing.

Obviously, not every bear that passes through neighborhoods is a problem bear, but you don’t want to make the neighborhood too welcoming for them. Apparently, one homeowner in Hurley completely disagrees with all of this advice.

According to NYSDEC, on August 23, Environment Conservation Officer Jeannette Bastedo responded to a complaint of someone feeding black bears in the town of Hurley. When she arrived, she saw one bear fleeing the property while another continued to feed from a dog food bowl on a deck.

Trying to get the bear to leave, Officer Bastedo hit several blasts of the siren on her patrol car. Finally, the bear left and upon climbing up to the deck, she discovered multiple, large bowls full of sunflower seeds and containers full of water on the deck. A mother bear and two cubs were spotted in a tree nearby.

The individual responsible for feeding the bears said that if they took away the food, the bears might try to get into the house. ECO Bastedo explained why feeding bears is prohibited and issued the individual a ticket for unlawfully feeding black bears, returnable to the Town of Hurley Court.

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