The Town of Kirkland fined a citizen who had called her to find out how to move a marmot captured in a cage on her property.
Rather than help him, a municipal inspector came to his home, noticed the presence of mouse traps and gave him a statement of offense for doubly violating the local by-law against hunting and capturing animals. animals.
It is prohibited to “hunt or set a trap or trap to capture an animal, except when required by the City for the common good”, says Kirkland’s by-law. Both the groundhog cage and the mouse traps violated this prohibition, according to Inspector Jackie Cenci: groundhogs and mice must be left alone in this demerged municipality on the island of Montreal.
The story moved to the municipal court. Earlier in May, Judge Randall Richmond decided to acquit the citizen, Catherine Perras. She had been fined approximately $150.
The magistrate determined that it was not possible that Kirkland City Council actually intended to prohibit the capture of groundhogs and mice with its bylaw.
“I do not believe that the City wanted to prohibit humanitarian and security instruments like the one in which a marmot entered at Mr.me Perras,” Judge Richmond wrote.
“When she phoned the City to find out what she should do with the groundhog, the City should have helped her, rather than give her a ticket, lamented the magistrate. Groundhogs and mice are rodents. Mice are also vermin. Trying to eliminate them, Mme Perras was merely fulfilling the obligation imposed by the Town of Kirkland in its By-law […]. For the marmot, she chose a humanitarian means that does not kill or injure the animal. »
Having “tried everything to scare the animal away”
Despite several attempts, The Press could not discuss with the citizen. Catherine Perras had also not responded to the statement of offense and had not appeared before the municipal court of Montreal. She was acquitted without even defending herself.
The City of Kirkland, for its part, has promised to reflect on the possibility of modifying its by-law in the wake of the Richmond judgment.
“The City intends to review soon certain provisions of its regulations with regard to urban wildlife animals to clarify its intentions in light of the reflections raised by the judge in his decision”, wrote the director of communications of the municipality, Lise Labrosse, in an email.
For now, the Town of Kirkland’s approach is to teach citizens ways to keep the animals away rather than capture them, she continued.
“The City is making its citizens aware of the importance of using scaring techniques to keep animals away from their property without causing them harm,” said Ms.me The brush. Using the cage-trap to dislodge an animal should always be a last resort and […] only cage traps provided by the City are permitted, in which case the citizen must be able to prove that he has tried everything beforehand to scare the animal away. »