Two peanuts cost Westmounter $455

Bruce Kert claims that on Sept. 14, 2006, he was issued a citation by a Westmount Public Security officer for tossing two peanuts at a squirrel near Westmount's municipal pool.

Kert says the initial fine was $75, but has since risen with interest to $455, because it has not been paid. He refuses to pay, partly because the PSO who issued the ticket "didn't give me a warning," he says, or take into account it was a first offence involving only two peanuts.

"I never feed animals," Kert told the Examiner. "I found two peanuts on the street and I threw them at a squirrel. Maybe I did it 10 years ago at some point. I don't even remember. But it's not like I make a habit of it."

In addition, Kert maintains he took the ticket to be stamped by municipal officials in such a way as to show he was contesting it, but subsequently, "I never got my subpoena."

He says that three weeks ago he learned from another PSO that the officer who issued the ticket had appeared in court 18 months ago in conjunction with the offence, at which time a warrant was apparently issued for Kert's arrest.

"I spent $40 for a stay of conviction, meaning I'm having a retrial," he says. "I wasn't aware there was a court date at all. I wasn't served any notice." He has a new court appearance scheduled in January at the Palais de Justice in Montreal.

Section 16-C of Westmount's by-law 257, concerning nuisances, states, "The feeding of any pigeon, seagull, squirrel, other wild animal or vermin in the City is hereby declared to be a nuisance, and an infraction of this By-law … Every person who feeds, or causes or permits the feeding, of any pigeon, seagull, squirrel, other wild animal or vermin shall incur the penalty hereinafter provided."

Fines for first infractions to the by-law range from a minimum $50 to a maximum $1,000. Second or subsequent infractions range from $100 to $2,000.

"There's a difference between feeding a squirrel, like throwing him a peanut, and throwing him a bag of peanuts," Westmount Director General Duncan Campbell said this week. He also pointed out that the City's current policy towards feeding wild animals is zero-tolerance.

Regarding Kert's case in particular, Campbell added, "I'm not the judge, and certainly if he feels that he has a case, he can bring it to the municipal court, because that's what it's there for … In terms of interpretation of the by-law, there's usually no discretion."