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Linesville Fights For Our Freedom To Hurl Bread — And Wins

September 19, 2008

High fives and carp lip kisses for the citizens of Linesville, Pennsylvania. They have successfully fought off an attempt to end bread-hurling at the Pymatuning Spillway, which would have also ended the majestic spectacle of Where The Ducks Walk On The Fish.

In August, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources boldly announced that, as of January 1, people would no longer be allowed to hurl bread at the fish. Instead, they could only hurl dry meal pellets that had to be purchased from the state. The DCNR said that the reason for the ban was that the ecosystem was being harmed by so many bakery products. Outraged locals shot back that all of the bread was eaten by the ravenous fish (and an occasional lucky duck), and that the fish had been eating hurled bread since the 1930s and seemed to be doing just fine.

A public meeting was called for September 8. At the meeting, the state abruptly changed its argument. It said that the problem wasn’t the health of the fish or the ecosystem after all. It was an increase in goose poop. The locals howled. A story in the Meadville Tribune reported that, “Those at the meeting failed to immediately see any connection between feeding the fish and geese,” and that the state “was unable to successfully convince many of the people in attendance that feeding the fish specially formulated dry meal pellets instead of bread would solve anything.”

Nine days after this debacle, the state announced that its ban would be postponed for a year — in effect, cancelled.

Democracy works; just ask the people of Linesville. Perhaps their triumph will rally the citizens of Illinois to save the Lincoln Log Cabin from an equally unjust fate.

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2 Responses to “Linesville Fights For Our Freedom To Hurl Bread — And Wins”

1. Charlotte Says:
   September 23rd, 2008 at 6:14 pm

   Thank goodness someone listened to the public. Who ever had the idea not to feed bread to the fish in the first place?

2. cecily Says:
   December 31st, 2008 at 5:52 am

   OMG. The Linesville fish issue, wow. I say TOO BAD SO SAD about the switch from pellets. I think the Parks Department had a great compromise. What gives people the right to think they can feed fish and other wildlife stuff like bread, cake, bagels and all sorts of other garbage?

   The pellets would have allowed the fun to continue but in a humane and environmentally sound manner. This should be applied to fish, ducks, gees, etc. How selfish can people get?
   This is a sad, sad story. I hope the Department will re-institute its plan for pellets. Then maybe I will come back and spend some money in the area!

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