Activist not guilty in bear-feeding case

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VERNON TOWNSHIP, N.J., Sept. 12 (UPI) -- An animal-rights activist was found not guilty of intentionally feeding black bears at her Vernon Township, N.J., home, court records said.

Susan Kehoe, 61, faced a $1,000 fine for illegally feeding bears that wandered onto her property, but Vernon, N.J., Municipal Court Judge James Devine ruled Tuesday that despite testimony from two state Division of Fish and Wildlife Officers, who said they saw dog food, sunflower seeds and large amounts of bear feces on her front lawn, the evidence was circumstantial and not direct.

Kehoe was issued a summons Dec. 8 for intentionally feeding bears after conservation officers responded to her home to investigate her complaint of hunters on her property, the Newark, N.J., Star-Ledger reported Wednesday.