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"Deer Lady of Copco Lake" jailed — again
Probation violations: Failure to "obey all laws and stop feeding deer"
Associated Press — Feb. 14, 2003
YREKA, Calif. — A Siskiyou County, Calif. woman is back in jail for feeding black-tailed deer in her backyard.
Thana Minion, also known as "The Deer Lady of Copco Lake," was sentenced to 30 days for feeding a large herd of deer a mix of oats, barley and other grains.
Minion, 52, violated her probation from a 1997 conviction of driving while suspended and resisting arrest during an altercation with Fish and Game officers who were trying to encourage her to stop feeding deer. As part of her probation, she must obey all laws and stop feeding the deer, but she has refused.
"Ill go to jail as many times as I have to," Minion said. "It's not going to stop me."
Siskiyou County District Attorney Pete Knoll said he doesn't want to see Minion behind bars and he's no fan of the deer-feeding ban, but her perpetual flouting of the law gives authorities no alternative.
The state Legislature in 1996 enacted the law specifically for cases in which feeding causes perceived harm to the animals by attracting disease, predators or hunters or by over-taming them to a point where they rely on the illegal feed.
But Minion, who served 45 days in jail for a similar violation in 2000, said as an American Indian she has the right to feed these deer as part of her connection to nature.
Probation violations: Failure to "obey all laws and stop feeding deer"
Associated Press — Feb. 14, 2003
YREKA, Calif. — A Siskiyou County, Calif. woman is back in jail for feeding black-tailed deer in her backyard.
Thana Minion, also known as "The Deer Lady of Copco Lake," was sentenced to 30 days for feeding a large herd of deer a mix of oats, barley and other grains.
Minion, 52, violated her probation from a 1997 conviction of driving while suspended and resisting arrest during an altercation with Fish and Game officers who were trying to encourage her to stop feeding deer. As part of her probation, she must obey all laws and stop feeding the deer, but she has refused.
"Ill go to jail as many times as I have to," Minion said. "It's not going to stop me."
Siskiyou County District Attorney Pete Knoll said he doesn't want to see Minion behind bars and he's no fan of the deer-feeding ban, but her perpetual flouting of the law gives authorities no alternative.
The state Legislature in 1996 enacted the law specifically for cases in which feeding causes perceived harm to the animals by attracting disease, predators or hunters or by over-taming them to a point where they rely on the illegal feed.
But Minion, who served 45 days in jail for a similar violation in 2000, said as an American Indian she has the right to feed these deer as part of her connection to nature.
