Broomfield, CO Animal Ordinances: Bird Protection (2026)

Section 6-32-040, in chapter 6-32, Cruelty to Animals, bars anyone in the City and County of Broomfield from intentionally frightening, shooting at, wounding, killing, taking, capturing, ensnaring, netting, or trapping a song or insectivorous bird. The ordinance names protected species: robin, lark, whippoorwill, finch, sparrow, thrush, wren, martin, swallow, snowbird, bobolink, redwinged blackbird, crow, raven, oriole, kingbird, mockingbird, and song sparrow, and the list is non-exclusive ('including, but not limited to'). The same section bars molesting or injuring a nest, eggs, or young, and bars possessing the nest, eggs, young, or body of any listed bird, closing off any 'I found it, I kept it' defense.

The chapter traces to Ord. 233, Art. VII, adopted in 1975, and was last amended by Ord. 993 in 1993. Because 6-32-040 sits inside chapter 6-32, the enforcement section at § 6-52-010(A) applies directly: a conviction is a misdemeanor, and every day the violation continues counts as a separate offense. Broomfield Police, which runs the city's animal services function, investigates complaints, and the city attorney's office prosecutes cases in municipal court. There is no permit or exception process built into § 6-32-040 itself; the poisoning statute at § 6-32-020 carves out bats, rodents, and insects, but that carve-out does not reach the song and insectivorous birds protected here.

Anyone dealing with a bird believed to be a nuisance, including one nesting on a building, should contact Community Development or Police rather than acting alone, since the ordinance draws no line for 'pest control' takings.