The City of Cranbrook is asking residents to keep their yards clear of animal attractants, such as fallen fruit or food waste, in accordance with a pair of local bylaws.
Keeping yards clear can help keep animals out of the community and reduce unwanted conflict with wildlife.
The City said it has two bylaws in place to discourage people from deliberately feeding wild animals.
Under Cranbrook’s Deer Feeding Prohibition bylaw, locals are not allowed to directly or indirectly leave edible materials on their property to deliberately feed deer. Those growing fruits and vegetables for their own use, using their properties for farm operations, or growing ornamental plants are exempt from the bylaw, however.
As well, the Animal Control bylaw prohibits feeding or sheltering of any type of wildlife. Residents are also discouraged from leaving food, food waste, seeds, nuts or fruit fallen from bird feeds or trees accessible to animals on their property.
Cranbrook said Wildsight offers an Apple Capture service to help people use fruit growing in their yards.
“Having wildlife in our community is a normal part of life in Cranbrook. But, using some of these simple steps and taking advantage of the programs available through Wildsight, will help keep unwanted encounters to a minimum,” said the City of Cranbrook.
As well, Wildsight offers a Tree Share Board, which connects people who may not be able to pick their own fruit trees with people who could use it and do the work of picking fruit.
More: Tree Share and Apple Capture (Wildsight)
