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Ratiocination on crows and Assman

Lorraine’s stopped feeding the crows and looks into license plate law.
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Lorraine Doiron

My walk to Osoyoos continues. In last week’s column I mentioned that I sometimes feed crows.

A phone call with concerns that I was breaking a law feeding wild animals, especially crows, had me doing some research.

In Kamloops a man was fined $300 for feeding crows due to a bylaw, not specific to feeding birds but indicating attracting animals to a property where they could create a nuisance and possibly attract wildlife that can be dangerous to the community was used.

The Kamloops person plans on fighting the fines.

I checked the BC Wildlife Act and there was no specific mention on feeding crows or birds, although there was mention on feeding wildlife.

Provincial regulations indicate the law only applies to dangerous/predatory animals (bears, cougar, lynx).

So then I checked Smithers’ bylaw: it appears that attracting scavengers, crows are a good example, can cause problems.

Once crows find a place where food is strewn about, they will also check out garbage bins and will make a mess.

There is no bylaw that is specific to feeding wildlife but a property maintenance bylaw speaks to “scattered, rubbish, waste or debris” could be applied to the bread, vegetable waste or compost material that is left out for the birds.

So all that said, I will only admire the crows but not feed them, my reason being I also do not like garbage all over the place and do not want to encourage bears to pay me a visit.

Book Lovers Night Out, Wednesday, Feb. 13. Discussion will be on Beartown by Fredrik Backman. Drop-ins are always welcome: 7 p.m. at the Aspen Inn Riverhouse Lounge.

A Brown Bag Lunch, Feb. 14, 12:05–12:50, Healthy Living Centre, 1070 Main.

BV Hospice volunteer Sheila Peters will give a brief overview of B.C.’s Advance Care Planning process.

The focus will be on preparing for and filling in forms that suit your circumstances. Family groups welcome. More information: bvhospice.ca/index.php/advance-care-planning.

Some time ago I wrote about a man who could not renew his long-held personalized license plate based on his last name: Grabher.

I checked to see if there was an update on this as he was going to court. Nothing yet but I found another man who is having the same difficulty.

His last name is Assman, rejected when applying for his personalized licence plate. Dick Assman, from Melville, Saskatchewan became famous in 1995 after he was mentioned by David Letterman on his late night show, becoming a sensation dubbed “Assmania.”

Mr. Assman says it is his last name, he is not ashamed of the name, one he shares with his great-grandfather, it has German roots, pronounced “Oss-men.”

When he asked why the rejection, Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) indicated the rejection was that it could be misread and cause offence.

A spokesman for the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms says it’s important that the province’s decision be overturned. More on that as it unfolds.

Closing with: ratiocination, the process of exact thinking. Reasoning.

A reasoned train of thought.