Fernie mulling new wildlife attractant penalties

Fernie City Council is set to give the green light to a new, two-tier fine structure to deter residents from leaving wildlife attractants on their property.

This would give bylaw officers the ability to issue fines to residents who leave wildlife attractants on their property in a manner which is easy for animals to access.

The new system would see a $250 fine for a first offence and a $500 fine for each subsequent offence through a calendar year.

Mayor Nic Milligan feels a three tier system with fines climbing to $1,000 for a third offence would be too heavy-handed at this time.

“One of the things we’re trying to do is making a certain level of affordability in our community,” Milligan says. “One-thousand dollars is quite punitive. My instinct is to stay with the $500 and see how that plays out, and then revisit it if necessary.”

The current bylaw carries a $50 fine for anybody in Fernie who sets out wildlife attractants in a manner which attracts wildlife with no escalation for subsequent infractions.

Click here to learn more about the planned bylaw from the City of Fernie.

View the discussion on this subject from Tuesday’s Fernie City Council meeting below:

– Nic Milligan – Mayor of Fernie (article contains link and video supplied by City of Fernie)