RUMFORD – A Sabattus legislator wants to make it a crime to feed deer or wild turkeys.

Rep. Scott Lansley, R-Sabattus, proposed LD 197, An Act to Prevent the Domestication of Wild Turkey and Deer,” which levies a fine of between $500 and $1,000 on anyone caught intentionally feeding gobblers or intentionally feeding or providing salt to deer. Two or more violations make the crime a Class E misdemeanor.

“People need to think about what they’re doing before they do it,” Lansley said Sunday by phone from Sabattus.

He submitted the bill on behalf of a constituent in Greene, whom Lansley said doesn’t like to shoot wild animals. People who live nearby are feeding deer and wild turkeys, which are then destroying the man’s crops.

Mexico police Chief Jim Theriault, who feeds deer and wild turkeys at his Roxbury Pond campground in Roxbury, disagrees with the bill.

“That’s ridiculous! I’m totally against it. It would take away my serenity,” Theriault said Friday afternoon. “The laws are there so you can’t do it during hunting season, but I’m helping the deer and turkey populations to survive.”

“We’ve have some mild winters, so, it isn’t a matter of them starving to death. They’ve got food,” Lansley countered.

If the bill is passed as is, Theriault said he could see doing it to stop the supplemental feeding of large herds of deer in large yards like along Route 16 in Wilsons Mills. Lansley said the bill applies to individuals, but could be amended to exclude organizations that work to maintain the health of herds.

But, he added, it’s wrong to apply it to individuals.

“It’s not hurting the deer, and it’s certainly not domesticating them,” Theriault said.

People are motivated to feed deer and turkey for a variety of reasons, all of which go against the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife philosophy.

Like Theriault, people may believe deer cannot survive winter without supplemental food, or, they believe feeding deer in winter will result in a more plentiful hunting harvest the following year.

Suburban landowners may think that supplemental foods will divert deer away from expensive shrubbery, while others feed them simply because they enjoy seeing deer up close. Additionally, some business owners know that enticing deer also attracts customers.

According to a lengthy statement on the department’s Web site about supplemental feeding, it acknowledges that most people who feed deer are well-intentioned, but advises against doing so for many reasons.

To name a few, feeding deer:

• May disrupt deer migration to natural wintering areas.

• Won’t prevent deer losses.

• Will place them at greater risk from free-roaming dogs.

• Will make them more vulnerable to diseases.

• Increases deer/vehicle collisions.

Regarding wild turkeys, wildlife biologist Brad Allen stated in a department report that turkeys tend to become tame and dependent on the food, there’s a potential for disease transmission around feeding sites, and artificially concentrating turkeys at feeding sites attracts predators.

“Winter feeding will always be with us as long as people want to help wildlife in any way they think best,” Allen said.

The Legislature’s Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife begins work on Lansley’s bill at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13, in Room 206 of the Cross Building in Augusta.