Currently, there are dozens of ground squirrels cruelly separated from their foothill natural habitat by the careless people who throw human junk food at clusters of sometimes 20 of them at a time, harming their circulatory systems and abnormally raising their population.
Federal regulation declares feeding of squirrels as harassment subject to a fine between $100 and $1,000. Police, a city task force, or volunteers summoned by the tourist bureau could collect good revenue here if they cared. Wouldn’t they care if the public fed their children M&Ms all day long? Perfect posted signs say feeding wildlife is harmful to their health and to ours. The signs need to be more numerous and larger if possible, maybe with private volunteer funding.
Overfeeding causes abnormally high birth rates in females. Overcrowding is enormously harmful: 1. It increases the fecal material polluting otter’s bottom food and sea grass—otters stirring up sea grass roots for shellfish increase sea grass reproduction, benefitting many organisms; 2. It excessively undermines cliffs and jetties (the agricultural department removes squirrels from the Cambria cliffs); 3. Symptoms of illness are already evident in widespread hair loss among the masses of squirrels; 4. We learned from the LA Times that coastal squirrels are infested with black-legged ticks, which can leap off their hosts and cause Lyme disease (lifelong misery) to any dogs or people close by or in contact.
When we try to educate people about the vast harm done by violating both federal law and the signs, we hear, “You’re spoiling our fun!” The city and county should prohibit activities guaranteeing disease among both people and wildlife. No wildlife should be disturbed in its home.
Humane Society International asks us to supply only native feed material to all wildlife. When we mention this to the local feed stores—that much harm is being caused by their large sacks of squirrel and bird food—they pay no attention. Uninformed tourist advocates and managers of Morro Bay wildlife are making the area an unhealthy place to live in and visit.
Vivian Thompson
Morro Bay
This article appears in Jul 21-31, 2022.
Yeah, we can’t keep criminals from staling in our stores or destroying our vehicles by taking catalytic converters. The homeless urinate and deficate in public places and we can’t stop that. Let’s utilize our public employees to patrol against feeding squirrels.
I am worried about a giant Squirrelzila attacking SLO to avenge it’s overfed companions.
What about the messy seagulls that help feed the squirrels? Should we shoot them, as I don’t think they’ll ever pay the fine?