Feed a Bear, Pay a Fine, Proposed Law Says

MONROVIA — The City Council voted to create an ordinance that would prohibit residents from feeding local wildlife, including bears, mountain lions and coyotes, officials said.

City officials say the rebounding black bear population in the neighboring Angeles National Forest is creating safety concerns. Since May 1999, police have responded to 65 bear calls.

“It is a problem,” said Monrovia Police Chief Joseph Santoro. “Over the past three years, we have tried to deter people and the bears. We have used rubber bullets on the bears and bear-be-gone devices.”

Still, the bears will continue to rummage through frontyards and alleys if residents continue to feed them, Santoro said. The new law would make it an infraction to willfully feed “nondomesticated mammalian wildlife” and will carry a $100 fine for first-time offenders. The fines would go up to $200 and $500 for second and third offenses.

The council is scheduled to vote on a second reading of the ordinance on Sept. 26. In the meantime, Santoro said he plans to present the ordinance to other foothill police departments today at the San Gabriel Valley Police Chief’s Assn.