YULAN – A years’-old ruling by retired Sullivan County Court Judge Frank LaBuda that allowed the feeding of deer on private property has been overruled by a new regulation from the State Department of Environmental Conservation, he told members of the Beaverbrook Rod and Gun Club on Sunday.
The new regulation, though, is “constitutionally vague,” LaBuda said, because you can still plant an apple tree and feed deer anytime, but you cannot buy apples at the market and feed them to deer.
The new regulation will result in deer starving to death, LaBuda said. “We have been brought up to respect animals and love nature and I think it is contrary to our rules, our values, to stand by and watch animals die in your backyard,” he said.
LaBuda believes the new regulation could be challenged in the courts and overruled.
