Aliso Viejo, CA Animal Ordinances: Bird Protection (2026)

The City of Aliso Viejo, in Orange County, California, protects birds through Chapter 11.10 of the Aliso Viejo Municipal Code, the park rules chapter, rather than through a separate bird ordinance. Section 11.10.020 defines "wildlife" as a terrestrial or aquatic mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, mollusk, arthropod or any other vertebrate or invertebrate member of the animal kingdom, and the definition expressly reaches a part, product, egg or offspring of the animal. Section 11.10.180 then prohibits anyone from hunting, killing, wounding, feeding, touching, teasing, frightening or intentionally disturbing wildlife in any designated park or recreational area. Feeding is on that list, so tossing bread to ducks or seed to songbirds in a designated park is a violation as printed. The exceptions are narrow: persons performing their official duties, and areas designated, with conditions established, by the director, who is the community services director or his or her designee under section 11.10.020. In a private park the consenting owner sets those conditions instead.

Section 11.10.190 adds a trap rule. No person can possess, carry or use any trap, live trap, snare, net, kill jar or similar device in a designated park or recreational area without a valid permit from the director, and collecting wildlife at all requires a research-collecting permit in the person's possession, on top of any permits required by state or federal law.

Two limits on scope matter. The chapter applies only to parks made applicable under section 11.10.010, and section 11.12.020 says that, unless otherwise specifically provided, Chapter 11.10 does not apply to the Aliso Viejo Ranch. The Ranch rules in section 11.12.030 contain no wildlife-feeding provision of their own. The other bird references in the code define pets, aviaries and livestock fowl under Title 6 and the zoning code; they do not protect wild birds.