New York State Man Arrested Third Time For Peculiar Reason

For the third time in three weeks, a New York state man has been arrested for something you may never have thought you could be arrested for. The case has drawn national news and illustrates an ongoing battle one local man has had with his neighbors, as well as area officials. WHAM says the 71-year-old was recently issued another ticket to appear in court to answer for this charge.

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You may remember the Sodus Point, NY man who had been arrested twice around Memorial Day Weekend? According to the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, it happened again and for the exact same reason as both times before. WHAM says the man had almost two dozen feeding trays filled with bird seed and peanuts on his property. According to a Sodus Point ordinance, you can only have two feeders per household, and the feeders have to be elevated at least five feet.

New York Law

The NY Department of Environmental Conservation says that feeding some wildlife, such as moose and wild deer is prohibited. Their website states that these laws are to "reduce risks associated with communicable wildlife diseases, minimize conflicts with deer (and other wildlife), and protect wildlife habitats.". However, feeding ducks and geese is not necessarily illegal in New York, according to the DEC.

Of course, there are a lot of gray areas in cases like this and they can vary from town to the next.

Fortunately, the owl was not hurt. Police were able to rescue the owl without incident by letting it fly out of the same window it had broken through. Wikipedia describes the barred owl (or, northern barred owl or hoot owl) as a type of owl native to the eastern part U.S. and Canada. Most barred owls prefer heavily forested areas for their homes.