I was at the park today when I saw a couple’s dog chasing some crows. At first, I thought nothing of it, until I watched a little longer and saw the full extent of the situation. What was happening was that the couple were throwing food out for the crows to bait them into coming closer, and when they did, the dog would have fun chasing them away. I happen to know that in my state harassing wildlife or allowing your dog to do so is against the law and, in my opinion, for good reason. Watching this happening right in front of me made me uncomfortable, so after a few minutes I approached them in an attempt to educate. I was worried they might respond defensively, so I tried to be as friendly and factual as I could. Their response however was not defensive however but surprisingly pleasant and nonplused. They let me know that they do this with their dog every week, the flock of crows and their dog are all friends and everybody’s fine with it, the crows get food and the dog has fun. I again encouraged them to look up the state statute, but unsure if I was in fact just being a jerk, just left it at that and returned to the other side of the park where I saw them continue this routine for another 10 minutes or so before they left. Anyway, still thinking about this interaction several hours later and could really use an outside perspective. So what do you guys think, am I the asshole?
The dog can kill the crow. NTA
NTA, you were just informing them, and you didn’t continue to harass them afterward. While reading your story I was horrified at first, but when I read the couple’s explanation, I started to see their side. Crows are known for being pretty smart, I think they could figure out pretty quickly that they are being baited, especially if this isn’t the first time they’ve done this with their dog. And as they said, the birds are getting food out of it. However, I’m not a wildlife expert and have no way of guaranteeing this had no negative health repercussions on the birds. What I’m more concerned about is the dog being off-leash. Pretty sure that’s illegal in most states unless it’s a service dog and a leash interferes with their ability to do their job.
Nta. Crows are smart tho, if they didn’t want to play, they wouldn’t. If they really hated it they would attack the dog. So the birds are likely fine if that’s your concern.
NTA, if you are in the US crows are protected federally under the Migratory Bird treaty. I would have gone a step further and reported them. Fines up to $15,000 misdemeanor or felony charges depending on what is being done to the birds. But I know that I am an asshole.
No, you are not.
Crows are protected and so are many other species of birds. I was playing golf in Fairfax County, VA about 20 years ago. A guy in the group ahead of us used a golf club to smash some eggs in a Canada goose nest. Canada geese are covered by the act mentioned and one of the course marshalls knew this. He went to the club house and called Fish & Wildlife Service who sent agents to the clubhouse & the man was arrested when he finished the round. He was later fined a lot of money for destroying those eggs.
NTA, although it doesn’t seem like the other folks are necessarily ahs either. Like others have said, crows are incredibly smart, and if they didn’t like the game they would either leave or attack the dog, or the owners.
However what they’re doing is inherently risky for the birds, which are protected by law. That’s what makes me come down on the side of nta.
It’s also a really stupid thing to teach your dog. Get a tennis ball for goodness sake.
NAH crows are insanely intelligent and remember faces very well, if this couple does this every week and the crows are letting it happen, then the crows aren’t concerned about the dog. Give the crows some credit here, they wouldn’t keep doing something over and over again if they felt threatened (they’d stay away or attack the dog)
Either that or those crows are waiting to get them back muahahaha 😈
Wouldn’t put it past them honestly
That would be my concern, that the crows will start going at other people and their dog who are feeding random birds.
Corvids are smart as hell. But you don’t want to encourage bad behavior either.
NTA. It’s against *federal* law.
NTA. They are acting horribly. You should alert the authorities.
And frankly, even if this wasn’t reprehensible, it’s a terrible idea. Crows are incredibly smart, so smart that they can actually talk to other crows, who haven’t even seen offenders and tell them someone is an offender. How? No one knows. Crows also hold grudges hard core. If he ever succeeds in harming one, there is a good likelihood this dog and the owners will be seriously harassed for a long time.
I’ve heard so many stories of dogs harming birds, especially crows, and being harassed for literally years, barely able to go outside. There was an instance in Japan where students did a project which involved trapping and releasing crows, and the students were so harassed by crows they literally had to relocate. Crows do NOT mess around and they are smarter than most people would ever realize. These people are playing with fire.
And it’s super wrong too.