Gatlinburg tourists convicted of feeding bears

[rsimms]

Do you think the penalty was too harsh, to light or just right? Or should they have been punished at all?

http://newschannel9.com/sports/outdoors/gatlinburg-tourists-convicted-of-feeding-bears

 

[hookset]

The law is the law. Especially laws pertaining to wildlife is not only for their benefit but for ours as well. If bears loose their fear of humans and associate us as a potential food source the outcome can only be a tragedy for one or the other. I'm not talking about raiding the garbage can but hand feeding. Bears are dangerous and if confronted by one that resulted in contact I would bet that the bear would come out on top.
As far as the penalty towards the tourists, they would have probably gotten away with feeding the bears if not posted on social media. In that respect, these folks probably did not know they were breaking the law. However, they did and the result was set by the judge and I would have to agree with his decision.

 

[SHane]

I think I would too. Saw an area where TVA did not allow hunting and everyone was feeding deer apples. Buck attacked a lady there two years ago over an apple in her lunch sack. Now TVA had to start hunting in that area to control them. So, for the animals, how does human feeding end up? With dead animals. More harm than good due to a learned behavior.