Bowling Green City Council on Monday introduced an ordinance that would prohibit feeding wild animals in the city.
According to the legislative package document prepared for council, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources encourage property owners to avoid feeding wild animals and/or animals at large. Fed animals can become accustomed to people, causing the animals to lose their fear of people and become aggressive.
Recognizing the negative impact that residents feeding certain animals can have, and in order to promote a safer, healthier, and more resilient community, the city requests adopting an ordinance prohibiting feeding of such animals.
The city has experienced a much-publicized issue with wild turkeys in recent months.
The proposed ordinance defines an animal “running at large” as “an animal off its owner’s premises, without a leash, and without a person to control the animal.” A wild animal is defined as “an animal not legally confined or held by private ownership legally required and shall include, but not be limited to, squirrels, chipmunks, ground hogs, raccoons, skunks, opossums, muskrats, deer, foxes, black bears, wild turkey, bobcats and coyotes.”
The feeding of wild birds is exempted in the ordinance, “so long as the feed does not attract animals running at large or wild from public property, public ways or private property not owned by the feeding person.”
Regarding penalties, the proposed ordinance states that whoever violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor. Each day that a violation continues shall be deemed a separate offense.
Resident Bruce Kidder raised some concerns about the proposed ordinance.
“It needs some work,” he said. “It doesn’t address issues about people that maintain landscape that attracts deer. It’s vague about if I have a bird feeder, and lots of us do, and it’s visited by squirrels, under the ordinance, the way it’s written, I’m in violation of the ordinance.”
He also argued that, as written, under the ordinance, “if I maintain a bird bath and a deer walks by and drinks out of it, I’m in trouble, too. I just think we need to look at where we’re trying to fix, and fix that problem,” because, as written now, the ordinance “needs to be a lot more targeted,” said Kidder.
Kidder drew council’s attention to the Rotary Nature Center at Wintergarden/St. John’s Nature Preserve, noting that it has a window that looks out on wildlife feeding stations.
“If the city thinks it’s OK to feed wildlife, I don’t understand why the residents can’t, either,” he said.
Later in the meeting, Councilman Bill Herald, in conversation with Council President Mark Hollenbaugh, said that he would schedule a hearing on the ordinance in the near future.
