Bluesman fined $50 for feeding squirrel

MONTREAL, May 5 (UPI) -- A Montreal musician who, for more than two years, ignored a ticket for feeding a squirrel in a park documented the case with the release of "Squirrelgate."

The saga wound down Monday when a municipal court judge gave blues musician Bruce Kert four months to pay a $50 fine for tossing a peanut to a squirrel in the borough of Westmount on Sept. 14, 2006, The Gazette newspaper reported.

Westmount has the no-feeding bylaw to discourage the spread of vermin.

Kert, who is also a bicycle repairman, told the newspaper that because he missed several court dates, the original $40 fine had risen to $455. He said he didn't know why it was reduced to $50 at Monday's hearing. He also complained he wasn't first given a warning by the public safety officer who ticketed him, but the judge said that was irrelevant, the report said.

Kert said he has since stopped feeding squirrels, but expresses his frustration in the "Squirrelgate" song on the Soundclick.com Web site. It can be heard at http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=934743.