Ordinance Pertaining to a Prohibition to Feeding Wild Animals

Type: Ordinance

Source File: http://www.api4animals.org/downloads/pdf/Model_Wildlife_Feeding_Legislation.pdf

Sample Text:

Ordinance No. _______
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ______________ PROHIBITING THE FEEDING OF WILD ANIMALS

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ___________________:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 Definitions

A. “Attractant” means any substance which could reasonably be expected to attract a wild animal or does attract a wild animal, including but not limited to, garbage, food products, pet food, feed, grain or salt.

B. “Feral cat” means a cat without owner identification of any kind whose usual and consistent temperament is extreme fear and resistance to contact with people. A feral cat is totally unsocialized to people.

C. “Person” means any individual, partnership, corporation, organization, trade or professional association, firm, limited liability company, joint venture, association, trust, estate or any other legal entity, and any officer, member, shareholder, director, employee, agent or representative thereof.

D. “Wild animal” means any animal which is not normally domesticated in this state, including but not limited to, bears, coyotes, foxes, mountain lions, deer, opossums, raccoons and skunks.

NEW SECTION. Sec 2 Prohibitions

A. No person shall feed or in any manner provide an attractant to any wild animal.

B. No person shall leave, store, or maintain any attractant in a manner, area, or location accessible to any wild animal.

NEW SECTION. Sec 3 Exceptions

A. The prohibitions of this act shall not apply to:

(1) Any person who is the legal owner of a wild animal and the wild animal is kept in compliance with all applicable state and local laws.

(2) Any person who feeds or provides food to a trapped, injured or unweaned wild animal between the time that the agency in charge of animal control or its designated agent is notified of the wild animal and the wild animal is picked up by the agency or designated agent.

(3) A wildlife rehabilitator license pursuant to (insert state specific code/regulation).

(4) Any person with a bird feeder provided the feeder is suspended on a cable or other device to make it inaccessible to wild animals, and the area below the feeder is kept free from the accumulation of seed debris.

(5) Any person or organization that is providing care for feral cats and is making a reasonable effort to trap and sterilize the animals.

(6) Any person feeding animals in the normal course of raising farm animals for food production or in the care of livestock animals, provided all reasonable efforts are made to reduce attractants to wild animal in the course of feeding livestock/farm animals and in the storage of animal feed.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4 Enforcement

The animal control authority, its staff, its agents, or local law enforcement agents are authorized and empowered to enforce the provisions of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec 5 Penalty

Any person violating this act shall be guilty of a civil penalty of not less than two hundred dollars and not more than two thousand dollars for each violation. Each day that a violation continues or occurs will be considered a new violation for the purpose of assessing fines under this act.