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A Prospect Heights couple learned the hard way that not everyone likes the varied wildlife northern Illinois has to offer. Circuit Court Judge Alfred Levinson ordered Halina and Richard Rogulsk to remove their five birdfeeders and not put out any birdseed for six months. According to neighbors, the setup had attracted an overload of local animals, creating a health hazards.
The couple, of course, are not happy about the decision:
Richard Rogulski, 76, a Polish immigrant who also spent three years in a labor camp during World War II and earned a bronze star serving in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, said residents should expect to see animals in the neighborhood. "It's like they suddenly discovered that there are animals: 'Oh! A raccoon walked through our yard!'"
The most poignant aspect of the story?
"I was born in communist Russia, and in Russia, there was no freedom to pray . . . but not the birds. We could feed the birds," said Halina Rogulski, 73, a Polish immigrant who came to the United States after spending three years as a child in a German labor camp during World War II.
The Rogulskis had also set out a dish of bird food and scattered bread for local ducks. They were originally cited last fall and paid a $100 fine in January, which they were appealing. Any violation of the current order would result in a fine of $500 a day. [Tribune]
Image by Paul Delau via redwitch86x
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God forbid nature intrude upon our sterile, manicured urban/suburban existence. What the fuck is wrong with people??
Devil's advocate: Would you want your neighbor to engage in activitiy that attracted racoons and other such animals to your immediate area? Think about what those animals can do to your property.
Not saying I disgree with you, Pinko, only that I understand the other side.
"Devil's advocate: Would you want your neighbor to engage in activitiy that attracted racoons and other such animals to your immediate area? Think about what those animals can do to your property."
they were here first, we've taken over all wetlands and prairies that once existed, where the hell do you want them to go? we should consider ourselves lucky theres even any wildlife left.
Whoa, this guy makes it sound like the Gulag was better..."at least we could feed the birds".
Communist Russia- 1
Suburban Chicago- 0
"Feed the birds...tuppence a bag."
What would Mary Poppins say?! *tear*
buh-jesus, how ridiculous.
And funny coincidence, 848 just did a piece on wildlife and how us humans deal with it.
@matilda -- then they should ban the use of garbage cans in the suburbs because they will attract raccoons, as well as other critters. It's not like animals haven't existed in PH all along.
Whatever happened to this guy's 1st Amendment rights? Our inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? What if this is the way he expresses himself? What if this is the one thing that makes him happy and helps him to forget his time in the labor camps of WWII?
It isn't like he's selling bird seed out of little plastic baggies from his back yard?
I can see your point, but, there are ways of preventing animal intrusion on one's own property other than squashing this man's one and only happiness.
Why don't we just ban the use of cell phones while walking .... oh, wait, that's already been done.
FRP: Funny points, and some good ones, too.
But while I am a fan of prairie grass, and living within the confines of nature (that means to northern green lawns in Florida or Nevada, for instance), I also think it is not always evil when humans crowd out other animals. It's a darwinian world out there, and civilization requires that we do not live in the wild, as noble savages.
@frp:
Um, "feeding the birds" would probably NOT be considered protected speech under the first amendment.
And "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" are NOT considered part of the bill of rights, nor are they anywhere in the constitution. They are found in the non-legal document the Declaration of Independence.
Just to clarify.
This is ludicrous. Many people get a lot of joy from feeding birds.
That was something I remember most about my grandmother...she LOVED putting food out for the birds.
It's insane...why are people afraid of a little wildlife? Raccoons or opussums don't damage your house. If you keep your garbage cans secured, they won't get into those and it's not like they're going to form a gang and rob or attack you.
So what's the big deal?
I feel badly for this old couple. I have a little female squirrel that will sit and wait for me to put a couple of walnuts out for her. It makes me feel good to do that...taking that happiness away from this old couple is just stupid and cruel.
Why are we moving so far away from nature? It's a sad, sad commentary on contemporary urban life.
Would you want your neighbor to engage in activitiy that attracted racoons and other such animals to your immediate area?
Absolutely. Birds, racoons, coyotes even--bring 'em! We're talking common forest critters here, not bubonic plague-carrying rats or black bears. Keep your garbage cans secured and don't leave your small children, cats or lap dogs out in the yard unattended (small children shouldn't be left alone unsupervised anyway, regardless of animal life). Not a big deal...
@Spav1 -- Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm not trying to make a legal argument here. I'm just making the point that along with all of the frivolous lawsuits that clog 99% of all court dockets, the taxpayers are subject to frivolous legislation and enigmatic enforcement. What is the true reason this fellow's neighbor "called him in"?
"...an overload of local animals, creating a health hazards." Thank goodness they were local animals! Perish the thought at what may have happened should Mr. Rogulski put out feed to attract elephants or cougars or wildebeest!
We should start some sort of defense fund for this old couple...
or, you know, shit on the neighbor's door step.
Pinko: I hope you are prepared to persuade certain civic leaders, then, to change zoning and animal-control laws. Not everyone wants to live by or among wildlife.
In Russian, BIRDS FEED YOU.
(I mean, I had to. I'm sorry.)
L. Stolpman -- oh, you!
I like spav's second idea. complete with forking their yard (in the shape of a raccoon perhaps?) and egging their house too. A triple whammy.
It's a darwinian world out there, and civilization requires that we do not live in the wild, as noble savages.
I come from the camp that believes humans should serve as stewards over the earth, and not exploit it for our own greedy aspirations. You can't in good conscience apply Darwinian theory to a species that has consistently subverted the very laws of nature through technology (I can't, anyway). Left to our own devices, we would still be cowering in caves...
"Why are we moving so far away from nature? It's a sad, sad commentary on contemporary urban life."
I share your concern, but humankind has been doing this for thousands of years, and Americans have always been pretty good at this. You do realize, though, that "urban" is by defination about as far from nature as humans can get, right? And that some people move to cities in part to get away from "nature." Not everyone wants to pet coyotes on their porches, after all. Or deal with racoons.
I'm going to get a care package together - Hummel figurines and some CBS show DVD boxed sets. Hopefully these new hobbies will ease the pain of repression. Anyone want to throw in a season of "NCIS"?
Pinko: One can serve as a steward--and we should all be stewards--without wanting to live among wildlife. I don't think it is an either-or thing, though I regret my use of "darwinian," which implied far more than I meant to say.
Pinko: I hope you are prepared to persuade certain civic leaders, then, to change zoning and animal-control laws. Not everyone wants to live by or among wildlife.
You're absolutely right, and that is certainly their prerogative. But getting back to this particular story, the couple was only guilty of hanging bird feeders. Birds are already everywhere. It would be different if they were purposefully baiting racoons, oppossums, or other such wild animals.
Seems to me that they have sucky neighbors, and were even more unfortunate to be stuck with an even suckier judge. But that's our Cook County tax dollars at work for you...
But then again, I should also point out that I'm the guy with the pigeon on his head, so would you expect anything different out of my mouth?
The issue, as I understand it, is not that a raccoon took a stroll through someone's yard, but rather that there is a surfeit of critters in his yard that then go to other peoples' yards, shit on their cars, etc. etc. Having said that, why don't his neighbors do what other civilized people do and talk to him about it? (Or perhaps anyone who styles their argument like "In Soviet Russia, we could not pray, but we park Zaporozhet on sidewalk in no pants anytime we want," is not ammenable to negotiation.) Give the man better feeders that keep the raccoons out.
Or, crap, do what we all did to the neighborhood crank in days of yore and ride your bike on his lawn while flipping him the bird. I remember thinking that it was quite satisfying.
Yes, Pinko, the original story seems absurb.
So do the comments from the bird feeders about commies, et al. Did they not notice this case made its way through the courts, a process the old country lacked?
I have great respect for pigeons, true winners, it seems, in the darwinian scheme (sorry, I could not resist).
The neighbors could learn something from ESPN: http://thebiglead.com/?p=5290
Communist Russia had a court system. Just a really really biased one.
Come on!
You're absolutely right, and that is certainly their prerogative. But getting back to this particular story, the couple was only guilty of hanging bird feeders. Birds are already everywhere. It would be different if they were purposefully baiting racoons, oppossums, or other such wild animals.
They were intentionally baiting possums... they were leaving food dishes out back which is oppossum/raccoon/rat/stray bait. I know... I used to do it. Until we had an oppossum and its young take up residence in the garage. Mean little bastards.
Matilda, you don't like raccoons too much, do you? :)
I used to live in a neighborhood where there were two old ladies who actually put food out to feed the raccoons. It didn't bother me any...some of the other neighbors were a tad put off by it, but all in all, nobody ever did anything to stop it.
Every now and then I would see one of the raccoons in my backyard at night. They don't do anything. They're just looking for food...they gotta eat too.
I had a wildlife expert to my house a while back to remove some squirrels from my attic. We got to talking about the local wildlife.
It's so interesting.
After a 3rd trip to my house, he was on his way to remove an oppossum from someone's property. He said that they put on a good show, but you'd literally have to put your arm in its mouth for it to bite back.
People are just so afraid of nature. You don't have to be afraid. Just have respect. WE are the ones encroaching on THEIR lives, not the other way around.
I live in Oak Park, we have a fox family that has become quite famous here. I was out on a walk late last fall and came within touching distance of it. They are gorgeous! And there are now babies...a local woman actually helped the fox family and the babies cross Chicago Ave. recently!! So, we've kind of adopted them...there are articles in our local paper about sightings all the time.
I've got to say...I get like a kid when I see a raccoon or a hawk or any kind of wildlife that you don't see all the time. I love it.
The only kind of wildlife that I really don't want to ever
see are cockroaches. Give me a raccoon ANYDAY over
a cockroach!
frp - I know, pathetic, right? I was so excited to get that far down in the comments and see no one had pulled a Yakoff. -L.
Give me a raccoon ANYDAY over a cockroach!
Or a Bathynomus giganteus.
L. Stolpman -- hardly pathetic. I spit Coke Zero at my monitor at work when I read that. Yakov Smirnoff -- THAT'S classic comedy...better than that hack, Borat. Been there, done that. Snap.
Rather than being a "steward" for wildlife, this guy should be made a "steward" for the extra bird droppings in the neighborhood.
Oh, and that comment about the gulag is priceless. The poor guy is stuck here in a democracy where one person's preferences can't trample over the preference of others not to have bird turds in their hair.
You would seriously cite the annoyance of "extra bird droppings in the neighborhood" as an excuse to deny a person (an elderly man, at that, who is also a war hero) the simple pleasure of attracting and feeding songbirds on his own property?
You sound like a fun guy to be around. You'll probably wind up as the crotchety old man who waves his fist at kids riding their bikes on the sidewalks, keeps their balls and frisbees when they land on his property, and as a result, gets his house egged and flaming shit-bagged every Halloween...
I love how Chicagoans are big nature lovers. Give me a break! If any one of you walked out your apartment one day to see a crazy old man with a 10 pound bag of bird seed and 2 loaves of bread feeding every damn animal in sight you'd go bat crazy. I guarantee after 4 days of that nonsense and bird shit every where you'd let the old man know how you felt.
I have no doubt in my mind that the critters were venturing beyond the nice old Russian guy's lawn and leaving neat little presents around the neighborhood.
And Pinko - you clearly have never lived in the 'burbs where these geese are a protected species. You can't so much sneeze on them without the possibility of a fine. When I lived in Oakbrook Terrace where the geese are protected you had dodge the geese crap that was all over the sidewalks, roads and yes even the parks.
It's one thing to accommodate nature and the animals that once lived there. It's another thing to put out an all you can eat buffet.
I like to know what this guy is going to do when this elderly couple may slap him with an invasion of privacy lawsuit. What kind of idiot and uneducated person would think that these people would have anything to do with these animals going onto his lawn and better yet what kind of idiot judge would waste tax payers money to even take this case in court. I think the judge is a bigger idiot then the guy who filed the lawsuit. That kind of the judge don't need to be a judge to be begin with. As far as the guy he should come to Indiana and start that shit over here and see what happens.