What is so wrong with feeding bears?
Despite what some people think, black bears do not naturally occur in trashcans or a persons backyard in the middle of town. Animals exhibiting those behaviors are doing so because they have either been fed or have learned to feed on improperly stored garbage or pet food. When bears are intentionally fed, they learn to associate people with food and lose their natural fear of humans. The home range of black bears in Kentucky can exceed 80 square miles. If you feed a bear in your backyard, that animal is eventually going to leave and may travel to a house 10 or 20 miles away. The bear will again expect to be fed because you have taught it to associate people with food. At that point the safety of other people becomes a concern because they may have absolutely no interest in having a bear in their yard. Even worse, their new problem is of absolutely no fault of their own but they are stuck with the consequences.
