Austin, TX Animal Ordinances: Bird Protection (2026)

City Code Sec. 3-2-61, in the Birds and Fowl article of the animal code, bars a person from killing or injuring a bird or fowl that does not belong to them. Sec. 3-2-64 goes further for native songbirds: a person may not kill or injure a mockingbird or other native songbird, may not rob or destroy its nest, and may not capture, sell, or offer to sell one. Pigeon and similar-bird keeping is regulated separately under Sec. 3-2-63, which caps ownership at 100 pigeons or other birds at one location, while allowing release of a pigeon wearing a leg band issued by a recognized pigeon fanciers' association for exercise, performance, or competition.

Sec. 3-2-62 exempts veterinary clinics, zoos, shelters, pet stores, and educational or institutional research facilities from the pigeon enclosure and quantity rules in Sec. 3-2-17 and Sec. 3-2-63. Anyone keeping birds or fowl in an enclosure must also meet the general Sec. 3-2-11 standard: securely built, adequately sized for the number and kind of animals housed, and maintained sanitarily so it does not breed flies or create an odor offensive to neighboring properties.