DALTON — An elderly disabled couple has been ordered by a Lancaster District Court judge to stop attracting bears and other animals to their home with bird food, which the couple claimed was one of their only sources of enjoyment.

At a court hearing Monday afternoon, Leonard Reeg, a 91-year-old World War II veteran, reached a plea agreement with Fish and Game Conservation Officer Matt Holmes that meets the terms of the court order while still allowing the couple to feed birds in a fenced-in environment that should keep bears away.

“It’s a poor year for natural food, and they’ve been feeding birds constantly for 30 years, so the bear probably saw that as a food source this summer,” Holmes said.

“The problem is, bears begin to think that this is their habitat, and then what usually follows is property damage in the area and some bear ends up dead,” Holmes said. “We take these steps to try and prevent that eventuality.”

In the agreement, Reeg agreed to buy fencing with the understanding that Fish and Game officers would help him install it around his bird feeders so that his wife, Eova, 89, can keep feeding birds.

“We want to facilitate the Reegs’ ability to continue watching wildlife at their home, so we told them to let us know when they want to look at some fencing,” Holmes said.

Leonard Reeg said he agreed to the deal, but he and his wife are still sad and angry about it.

“They are going to put up the electric fencing,” he said. “I agreed to it, but I am still angry; we’re very unhappy. They’ve taken away my wife’s enjoyment, and we don’t have much else to enjoy these days.”

Reeg said he and his wife have been feeding the birds at their home for the past 30 years without any problems. And though Fish and Game officials warn about the dangers of bird food attracting bears, Reeg doesn’t see a problem.

“I don’t think bears are a nuisance at all. I think they are beautiful animals, and we have always enjoyed watching them at our home,” he said.

Holmes agreed that there had never been bear complaints near the Reeg home until this year, when neighbors lodged several complaints about “multiple bears” spotted around their house.

At the hearing Monday, Reeg was given the choice of taking the feeders down or having Fish and Game officers help him install fencing. He chose the latter.

“I’m still so damn angry,” he said. “The bears have never been a problem in 30 years, and then somebody complained because they saw a bear on their property, and now my wife has lost her wildlife. That’s all we have.”

dseufert@newstote.com