80-Year-Old Woman Faces Charges for Feeding Birds
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Claire Butcher in a park in Lynn, Mass. (Photo by The Daily Item of Lynn, Angela Owens/AP Photo)
An 80-year-old woman in Lynn, Mass., faces charges after she fed the birds at her local pond.
Town officials have filed criminal charges against Claire Butcher after she repeatedly violated a local ordinance that prohibits feeding the birds.
But Butcher couldn’t seem to stay away from her winged friends and has been charged with violating a 2009 No Tresspass Order that prohibited her from visiting local parks.
In the years since the order went into effect, police said they continued to receive complaints about Butcher, who allegedly took entire shopping carts filled with food to feed the feathered creatures.
Butcher, however, insisted she merely wanted to save six domesticated ducks from starving and wasn’t feeding hordes of wild birds. “Being an animal lover, I couldn’t leave any animals to starve to death,” Butcher told ABCNews.com.
Officials for the city of Lynn, however, are fed up with what they said was a pattern for Butcher and pressed charges against the octogenarian that could result in jail time.
“Well, look at it this way,” Butcher said, laughing. ”I will be the first 80-year-old woman in the world who was thrown in jail for feeding the animals.”
Christopher Kelly of the Lynn Police Department said Butcher had plenty of opportunities to stop before she was charged with violating the No Tresspass Order. “It’s been an ongoing issue,” Kelly told ABCNews.com. ”She’s been warned before.”
Kelly said that the health department had become concerned about community health and safety because of the increase in bird feces in the park that it linked to Butcher’s actions.
Butcher, however, sees it differently. “I have been feeding [the animals] since 1966. I’m 80 years old, and I have no health problems,” said Butcher. “To me, that’s just a lousy excuse.”
In spite of her age and the charges, Butcher remains defiant. While she said a local animal shelter took in three of the domesticated ducks, she said that with winter coming she might be tempted to feed the animals again “in a moment of weakness.
“The animals at the pond do not belong to the city of Lynn. They belong to God,” said Butcher. “If they have an issue, they should take it up with God.”
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All I can think of is the song from “Mary Poppins” “feed the birds, tuppence a bag”. Regardless of her good intentions and her advanced age, she is clearly breaking a law.
Posted by: Michelle | December 8, 2011, 4:17 pm 4:17 pm
I like her. What a neat old lady. We all get like that in our age I’m sure. She’s been feeding them for how long? Damn, if its such a problem, move the ducks to her house. With as much as she takes care of them, they’ll stay right where she is, problem solved. Sigh, all she wants is to spend her days feeding the ducks.
Posted by: klberkey | December 8, 2011, 5:10 pm 5:10 pm
She means well, but she probably isn’t doing the ducks a favor. Since they are domesticated, they should probably be taken in for the winter. We have a problem where I live with elderly ladies feeding birds. When politely asked to not feed the birds, the ladies get nasty. (One smacked me on the shoulder with her cane!) Rats don’t realize that the food people leave for the birds is not for them. Mother Nature provides for the wild birds.
Posted by: EB | December 8, 2011, 10:57 pm 10:57 pm
Why don’t they just leave this woman alone. Let her feed the birds if she wants. This should not be a big deal. Feeding birds is something many, many people do and it is not wrong. Why must officious people always cause trouble for good people.
Posted by: Vicki | December 9, 2011, 1:01 am 1:01 am
This is what is what the world has come to? I’m always supportive of the law but this is rediculous. They want to charge an 80 yr old woman for being kind and caring? How stupid. Go find some people who break bigger laws and prosecute them. Don’t waste your time on these little “crimes.”
Posted by: Carolyn | December 9, 2011, 1:20 am 1:20 am
why are they even going to arrest her some ppl her age has lost their other half and most of ppl that age family doesnt come around so they get lonely and they turn to animals for the only love they can get and then they get in trouble for feeding ducks are u kidding me i live in ringgold,ga we have a duck pond and there is tons of ducks and u will see young couples old people and kids feeding them all the time including my kids and my hubby and myself its called being an animal lover at least she didnt jerk one up and take it home break its neck and cook it for dinner lol
Posted by: rachel | December 9, 2011, 1:21 am 1:21 am
Ridiculous. Isn’t there anything else the city officials have to worry about? I mean really. Get a life. Claire obviously does.
Posted by: Reeni | December 9, 2011, 1:27 am 1:27 am
Charges to an 80 year old woman for feeding birds?! Really? Lynn, Mass. town officials are going to use budget resources to bring an 80 year old woman to justice for feeding birds? First, why waste resources on a law to stop feeding birds? Second, who made the executive decision to bring charges to an 80 year old woman? Is she really a threat to the Lynn community? I feel sorry for the Lynn, Mass. population that they have leaders and law enforcement like this in their town.
Posted by: Dave | December 9, 2011, 1:33 am 1:33 am
There must be a very low crime rate in this town for the police to be wasting time and money arresting this little old lady. Are there no drug dealers, spousal abusers, DWI’s, child molesters, to go after???
Posted by: stephani | December 9, 2011, 1:36 am 1:36 am
Hey Stephani,
What you said about the crime made me laugh!! I am from ma and Lynn is an awful part. there is this rhyme we have about it…. Lynn Lynn the city of sin you never come out the way you went in!!
Posted by: jesse | December 9, 2011, 2:04 am 2:04 am
I use to live in Lynn and that should be the least of their concerns in that corupt city with some of the most low life’s on this earth that I have ever encountered in my life!!!!! I hope since I have been there (almost 30 years ago) that all of the Crest rooming houses have been torn down. Leave the lady alone and get rid of the drugs and corruption. Please picking on an 80 year old lady. Still a nutty city even after all these years!!!
Posted by: sonya | December 9, 2011, 2:14 am 2:14 am
Stop…think… A law against feeding the birds? Really? I guess its no longer a free country.
Posted by: Rick | December 9, 2011, 6:01 am 6:01 am
As a retired police officer of 32 years all I can say is YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!! How trivial and nit picky can one city and it’s police department get? They (pd) need to tell whoever the spoiled snob(s) that complained in the first place to stop whining and move their uppity behinds somewhere else. Picking on an 80 year old lady, you all should be ashamed!
Posted by: Greg Moody | December 9, 2011, 8:43 am 8:43 am
The Judge could sentence her to be the City of Lynn, Official Winter, Duck Caretaker Volunteer!, Win/Win.
Posted by: Nancey Schneider | December 9, 2011, 9:20 am 9:20 am
But Butcher couldn’t seem to stay away from her winged friends and has been charged with violating a 2009 No Tresspass Order that prohibited her from visiting local parks
Sounds like they passed an ordenance in 2009 to keep her out of the parks. It sure sounds like she has a discrimination law suit against the city and I am a person who does not believe in such suits. I do agree duck crap can be a problem but it’s winter and I doubt if there are a lot of people except city officials visiting the park.
Posted by: Jack | December 9, 2011, 9:35 am 9:35 am
thats sad if they have nothing better to do than prosecute an old lady for being compassionate….
Posted by: Paige | December 9, 2011, 9:56 am 9:56 am
Serve and Protect? Not doing either. Maybe that should be changed to Abuse and Harass.
Posted by: Mike | December 9, 2011, 10:42 am 10:42 am
As a criminal justice student I think we need to concentrate on serious law breakers and leave the elderly alone. All she was doing was offering a little compassion for the hungry birds who often find it difficult to find food in the winter. She wasn’t hurting anyone, vandalizing property or stealing. I remember a time when all the elderly would sit in parks and feed pigeons and birds leave her be! Find something else to do, like catch real criminals and quit making these stupid laws! I feed strays in my neighborhood all the time because people quit caring about the animals and all they think about are themselves!
Posted by: Patricia Drury | December 9, 2011, 11:32 am 11:32 am
People who break the law, whether it is feeding the ducks, shoplifting, speeding, growing marijuana, etc. should face a four-step process for each time they violate that particular law. Step 1: warning, Step 2: fine, Step 3: jail time, Step 4: death penalty!
Posted by: Philip Blackwelder | December 9, 2011, 1:32 pm 1:32 pm
Wow, you people must have have born with a degenerative disease that robbed you of your common sense. Oh yeah, everybody should just stop following the laws once you hit 80 and white-haired!!!
Posted by: rj | December 9, 2011, 1:33 pm 1:33 pm
Really?!!?!??? This is probably aggravating for some people, yes..but jail time that is outrageous make her her pay fines everytime she does it, then she can still feed them, she just has to pay for it so maybe she won’t do it as much… Jail time is really a little much when considering allllll the really disturbing people they have in this world committing horrible, vicious crimes.. Focus on them, if you keep on with this ..just remember like she said, you willllll be facing god about it sooner or later, and what would god say about you punishing an old lady for feeding the creatures he created… Hmmmm ponder on that one, officials!
Posted by: Danielle | December 9, 2011, 1:59 pm 1:59 pm
Do ya’ll not have real criminals or drug heads to put in jail,and leave that little young lady feed the birds its not like she is sitting there with a gun shooting them.
Posted by: gwen | December 9, 2011, 2:09 pm 2:09 pm
Learn what Seattle does to control their goose population, which also tends to leave too much poop to make the parks inviting to most people. I think it’s possible to feed the birds food that makes them sterile.
Posted by: Jane West | December 9, 2011, 2:09 pm 2:09 pm
get a life. i’m sure some of those police officers are embarrassed that this is what the police chief is worried about. he’s just mad because someone is not obeying what he wants them to do. so he is going to risk…well forget the risk…he is just being extremely petty. give it up! if there is too much feces, let her clean it up which i’m sure others will be happy to help. i believe that the majority of the people will side with this woman because she’s really not doing anything wrong. i believe they created the law in that town just to make her stop. it’s not like feeding animals at the zoo…these are birds.
Posted by: darisa | December 9, 2011, 2:29 pm 2:29 pm
Jailing her is a bit harsh, but she’s not just bringing in a loaf of stale bread, or a cup full of seeds, once in a while. She’s bringing in cartloads of food, way more than her 6 little friends can eat safely. Between the rats she’s also feeding, the wild bird parasites and feces, and the fact that obese animals are not healthy means that she is actually causing more harm than good. being elderly doesn’t mean that it’s ok for her to cause serious health issues for both humans and the animals she’s trying to help.
Posted by: grmrsan | December 9, 2011, 2:37 pm 2:37 pm
There are too many REAL crimes to worry about, leave her alone and go after the REAL criminals like drug dealers, murderers, etc
Posted by: Gloria | December 9, 2011, 7:01 pm 7:01 pm
I just spoke with the PoliceDept of Lynn,Mass,and they have no intention of bothering her whatsoever,…Besides since they are within the 100mile border of our coast this issue falls under Homeland Security and the Dept of Wildlife for the United States has complete jurisdiction regarding these ducks,and this issue. There is a recent law that was written and ammended by Dr. David Allen
who happens to be the ultimate authority as far as wildlife/ DUCKS etc. goes . The decisions rest with him,he has addressed this already.
Posted by: Deborah Rose | December 9, 2011, 8:00 pm 8:00 pm
Why don’t they make themselves look really good, and arrest her and put her in jail on Christmas.
Posted by: Sally | December 9, 2011, 9:25 pm 9:25 pm
I really do not think this lady should be charged for or with anything! there are much bigger problems city officials should be concerned with and concentrated about. extremists are always ridiculous. I think the city should take the ducks in for the winter. I know there is a law against animal feeding but at her age to throw her in jail for feeding animals, it is more the ridiculous. do not city officials realize this? why are laws, created? simply because people abuse the privilege of having something. but to every law. There are exceptions. and this is one of them. laws are made with practicality in mind, not with a ludicrous one. it makes it look as if the law is panting if the lady does not comply with it, just like a selfish child would pant if it doesn’t get what he or she wants. it is very childish from the law’s part to want to put an 80 year old woman in jail for feeding birds. i’ve noticed we have a system based on punishment not on proactive assistance. it is obvious the lady feeding birds since 1966 spell out loneliness. so, instead of going through the way of punishment, why not go through assisting her in ways that would help her combat and radicate her loneliness? it is obviously a simple solution to an everyday latent problem. willing, wanting is all that’s needed to find the proactive answers to this problem. In other words, if there’s a will, there’s a way! Find that way! uniting with each other, you will find strength.
Posted by: José | December 10, 2011, 6:24 am 6:24 am
i’m very please to know that the police department of lynn, ma. is mature enough to realize it would be childish to throw her in jail for feeding ducks.
Posted by: José | December 10, 2011, 6:28 am 6:28 am
go find some real criminals and leave an old lady feeding birds alone you idiots
Posted by: brenda smith | December 11, 2011, 5:51 pm 5:51 pm
This is absolutely hysterical. Is this seriously happening? What is wrong with feeding birds?! Or any animal in that matter?! You see a poor innocent kitten coming up to you, with it’s bones practically showing, WOULDN’T YOU WANT TO FEED IT? I mean anyone with a heart would want to. Animals are a lot like humans in the fact that they have emotions and feelings as well and mostly get hungry like us as well and with this cold weather how are they going to find food? The birds cause absolutely no harm to us humans so why let them starve? I’m not some crazy animal lover but this old woman has a point! Why arrest a considerate old woman for wanting to feed animals who just need food! If you starve a human it’s against the law, of course. But, just sitting down and taking the time to just throw food for the birds is a law too?! WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO? You guys won’t seem to go after REAL criminals and set aside real issues, but you go after a caring old lady who has a big heart. She is old! Do you have any consideration!? This woman is going to spend her final days in prison for being a kind person! How is this right? This is absolutely no way to treat an individual. She doesn’t deserve this in the least. Cops never seem to do their jobs, they’re self-centered and selfish. They only do what they’re told, they ignore the real problems and choose to just sit on their asses eating and expect to get paid for just doing nothing, because they’re lazy. They don’t want to deal with a real cop needs to do. They seem to think they’re all big and bad and can do whatever they want, they don’t care about doing their job. They go after arresting innocent people like this individual, but their are countless people out their that need to be put in jail!!! This is ridiculous, it’s a joke. What a cold-hearted world.
Posted by: Shae | December 11, 2011, 9:26 pm 9:26 pm
tell ya what… go after the mass-polluting corporations, then go after the old folks. the complainers are worried about bird poop while they purposely ingest carcinogens every day (and feed it to their vulnerable children). priorities people.
Posted by: catherine turley | December 11, 2011, 11:29 pm 11:29 pm
That’s what is wrong with our country and most of the the world. As Ghandi said, You can judge how civilized a society is by the way they treat their animals.” We need more people in the world like this lady, who shows kindness and compassion for other living things. This is the most noble virtue, and this lady is not a criminal, she is a beautiful human being and a hero in my eyes!
Posted by: Debra Winkelman | December 12, 2011, 1:25 am 1:25 am
Those complaining should be shot. They are a boil on the ass of america’s freedom.
Posted by: Contrary Mary | December 12, 2011, 7:11 am 7:11 am
All i have to say is…. she is EIGHTY YEARS OLD…. and its birds…. I got an idea go after people who do actual bad stuff!!!! that literally break the friggin law
Posted by: shane | December 12, 2011, 10:01 am 10:01 am
The city and court system in Lynn need to think of creative ways to deal with this lady. I think jail is out of the question for a lonely elderly lady feeding birds. I can think of several ways of making her stop
First of all, have her evaluated for dementia or Alzheimer’s
1. Fine her the lowest amount for every occurrence till she stops.
2. Sentence her to volunteer work of her own choosing, that will give her a sense of worth
3. Sentence her to regular trips to a senior center around loving, caring staff. filled with activities
that will keep her stimulated
4. Get elder services involved to see if they can assist the lady in some way.
5. See if the local zoo can arrange a work space for the lady to care for ducks or other animals.
6. If they have to, even negotiate something with her!
C’mon, City of Lynn. A little compassion here. Think outside the box for a solution.
Posted by: Dave | December 12, 2011, 4:20 pm 4:20 pm
You people that are so against feeding the birds..guess what YOU DON’T HAVE TO FEED THE BIRDS. It’s not your problem or issue to tell someone to not feed them. There is so many nosy people in society today including the police with these new stupid “laws”. Seriously a law against feeding the birds probably because a group of over protective mothers who bring their kids to the park and watch their every little move that don’t know how to discipline their own children to NOT touch the feces on the ground got together at a town meeting at got this stupid/ignorant law passed. My baby is going to die because I don’t know how to tell them no when they put poop in their mouth! lol They are birds..they will go get their own food, but they will also eat the food people give them, if you don’t like it..tough luck for you. Don’t go to the park if you hate it that much. Stop getting in people’s business and getting laws passed that limit people. She is not breaking a law, she is feeding the ducks that were probably dumped there by owners that liked them when they were cute and little but didn’t want to take care of them anymore once they got bigger. If you think it is okay for the police to use your tax money to throw an 80 year old woman in jail over something so trivial than you hold little compassion in you and brain dead for following such a stupid law that could land someone in jail for helping another living being.
Posted by: Nichole | December 12, 2011, 4:31 pm 4:31 pm
jail for feeding birds lol, sounds like the pigs don’t have much work to do overthere
Posted by: bob | December 12, 2011, 11:45 pm 11:45 pm
I’m a resident, and this is outrageous. Seriously LPD what nerve do you have to have to do that. There was a guy completely smashed out of his mind the other day, standing across the street from my home, screaming and threatening to kill people as they went by! They didn’t even take him away they gave him a freakin’ warning!
I love my country.
Posted by: Anjela | December 18, 2011, 11:04 pm 11:04 pm
This is just wrong. That woman should be given a medal of appreciation. Those ducks are DOMESTICATED—meaning, they were abandoned there by uncaring, ignorant humans who probably purchased cute little ducklings for their children at Easter. Since they are domesticated, they CANNOT fly and are stuck at this park. They NEED people to feed them, especially in the winter when they have no food. Otherwise, they will die. Why doesn’t the town remove the domesticated ducks and place them in a farm so they can live. Why don’t they instead prosecute people who abandon these ducks?? This woman is sustaining their lives by feeding them. She isn’t wrong, the town is wrong.
Posted by: lauren | January 24, 2012, 2:54 pm 2:54 pm