LYNN, Mass. -- Who could be opposed to a senior citizen feeding the birds? How about the city of Lynn.

NewsCenter 5's Pam Cross reported that critics complain the woman also feeds squirrels and strays. They call it a public nuisance.

Claire Butcher, a 76-year-old grandmother, doesn't look like a lawbreaker, but she is. The city of Lynn ordered her to stop feeding birds and squirrels -- a citation calls it a public nuisance.

Birds flock to her yard. After being fined, she now gives peanuts to squirrels in her fenced back yard.

"I put out handfuls of peanuts, and they come running up, and they stand up," Butcher said.

The shells on the ground make some neighbors mad. Critics won't go public, but some said squirrels and birds soil the neighborhood. Not everyone agrees.

"The city of Lynn has a lot more bigger issues to fry than a little old lady feeding some squirrels," neighbor Gordon McCormick said.

"I love animals. I spend a lot of money. In fact, I spend more money on animal food to feed the animals than I do myself," Butcher said.

She said that she spends $250 a month on seed and peanuts. She could be fined $1,000 a day if she is caught feeding squirrels.