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For some of us, it’s common knowledge to NOT put any food outside, but for others putting out food is an act of compassion.
This type of thinking hinges on what people were used to doing in the past.
In my youth, my mother often tossed breadcrumbs made from our stale bread out in the backyard for the birds to eat. The food didn’t go to waste, we enjoyed seeing the birds come to eat, and the birds were happy. We lived in a rural place at the time with only one neighbor within walking distance.
As time went on and more homes were rapidly built near us, feeding the birds seemed to turn into feeding the “Muskrats”. I heard the neighbors talking about them for years but didn’t know what they were. Later on, I finally saw one the size of a Scottish Terrier in the rain-sewer/ditch while I was waiting for the school bus.
Harrogate Square is an Urban Environment.
Because of that, we do not ever dispose of food by making it available to wildlife, and there are much better ways of handling food waste. My personal method for dealing with food waste is to use the Farmer Pirates services which let me get two free large bags of their compost in the spring which leads to a great garden each summer. Farmer Pirates come to my unit once every two weeks to collect my food waste and deliver a new biodegradable liner for my bucket.
As an Urban Environment, we have challenges that prohibit the tossing of foods outside. The main one is the proliferation of Rats; 35 diseases can be walking across your porch furniture every night. Rat ticks could be jumping onto your pet’s fur!
We have challenges of being close to multiple sources of food along Transit Road just on the other side of our fence, and being close to an apartment environment where the management company tolerates overflowing dumpsters on a routine basis.
Influencing the environment near us by adding available food sources (be they bird feeders or scraps of food tossed out onto the lawn), causes a ripple effect that increases all wildlife near us.
One night in early June long after everybody had gone to sleep, I let my dog out into the backyard. While she was out there doing her business, we both saw a Coyote (either a young Coyote or a huge Fox) trotting along the back of Building 5 where some of our rodent sighting complaints have come from. Maybe Rats taste like Chicken to the Coyotes?
It might be rare for a wild dog like a Coyote to eat a Unit Owner’s pet, but it’s possible, and if Coyotes think it’s a good place to visit, why not a local Wolf? This type of rapid escalation problem is precisely the reason why we have to maintain a Zero-Tolerance Policy on leaving food outdoors.
And, if you are a hunted rat, you might try hard to seek refuge in a safe place. Perhaps you might decide to burrow a hole into a Unit where you are eating free food, or maybe you’ll try burrowing in just next door. Unit Owners who feed wildlife after being notified (and every Unit Owner has been notified before moving in), will pay the costs of rodent control and damages to their and/or other nearby units.
Declaration of Condominium, 11.02. — Units to be Properly Maintained
Declaration of Condominium, 11.05. — No Nuisances
By-Laws, 7.01. — Repairs and Maintenance, Section 1-4ii
By-Laws, 7.02. — Repairs and Maintenance Which Are the Responsibility of the Unit Owners
By-Laws, 7.05. — Restrictions on Use of Units and Common Elements, Section 3
By-Laws, 7.09. — Obligation and Lien for Cost of Enforcement, Section 1-4ii
By-Laws, 7.10. — Penalties and Fines
By-Laws, 7.12. — Reimbursement of Attorney Fees and Costs
Rules & Regulations, Section 9 — No Illegal or Disturbing Use of Units
Rules & Regulations, Section 10 — Unit Owner Responsible for Damage to Condominium Property
Rules & Regulations, Section 11 — Units to be Promptly Repaired and Maintained
Rules & Regulations, Section 21 — Outdoor Storage of Garbage
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