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Mich. woman fights to feed the squirrels

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EASTPOINTE, Mich., Dec. 9 (UPI) -- A 65-year-old gift shop owner in Eastpointe, Mich., faces 90 days in jail and a $500 fine because she won't stop feeding local squirrels.

Mayor David Austin said Luminita Marinas has let her love of the furry critters upset her neighbors by drawing hordes of squirrels to the public way around her townhouse.

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The crackdown came after a neighbor complained the peanuts she was leaving outside were attracting rats.

"If feeding the squirrels gets so out of hand that it's attracting rats to your neighbor's property, it's not fair to the neighbors," Austin told Detroit News.

Marinas was fined $250 in 2002 and authorities tried to limit her squirrel-feeding habit to once a day.

She was unrepentant before Friday's pre-trial hearing.

"There's no law against feeding squirrels," she said. "What's the problem? People in this country just like to complain."

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