Guilty of animal cruelty

I confess. I am guilty as charged. Several times in my life, I have been guilty of feeding wild animals. Yes, this is a big no no.

But I was young, stupid, uneducated, and hey, it seemed like fun.

Chipmunks, squirrels, birds, fish, raccoons, even bears have all suffered as a result of my unintentional cruelty. But at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission pointed out this week, giving people food to an animal is like pumping your five year old full of Mountain Dew and Oreos.

"Food being fed to animals usually offers inadequate nutrition," said Anni Mitchell, an WC biologist in Lake city. "This people food is junk food to animals."

Many of the things that we eat can be toxic to animals. Other items, such as the bones from a chicken, can splinter and actually cause death if ingested. Other foods, such as potato peels, nuts and some vegetables can actually make animals very sick.

And if that isn't enough to convince you not to feed wild animals, consider this, in Florida it is illegal to to feed sandhill cranes, bears, raccoons, foxes and alligators.

But before you think about turning me in for feeding that black bear, please cut me some slack. I was only eight years old at the time and I was a garbage dump in Maine. Hopefully, the statue of limitations has run out.

For more information on the problems associated with feeding wild animals, go to myfwc.