Chapel Hill, NC Animal Ordinances: Bird Protection (2026)

Chapter 4, Animals and Animal Control, of the Chapel Hill Code of Ordinances devotes Section 4-13 to nest and fledgling protection: 'The breaking up of bird nests, or the killing or catching of young birds within the corporate limits of the town is prohibited.' The rule sits among the chapter's other animal-welfare provisions, adopted by Ordinance No. 88-10-10/O-1 and carried in the Code since 1988. Unlike the chapter's nuisance and vicious-animal sections, Section 4-13 carries no citation schedule of its own, so enforcement falls back on Section 1-7's general Code penalty: a fine not exceeding $50 or imprisonment not exceeding 30 days, with each day a violation continues charged as a separate offense.

The Chapel Hill animal control office, created under Section 4-2, is charged with investigating 'reported or observed violations of any section of this chapter,' which includes Section 4-13, alongside its duties enforcing rabies, restraint and nuisance-animal rules. The town's animal control functions can also be contracted to the Orange County Animal Society or another designated agency under Section 4-2(b), which is the agency that in practice fields nest and young-bird complaints inside town limits. Because the prohibition sits in the general animal control chapter rather than the Land Use Management Ordinance, it applies town-wide regardless of zoning district, covering yards, rights-of-way, parks and construction sites alike.

The section lists no permit or removal process, so any nest disturbance or taking of a fledgling inside the corporate limits is a flat violation unless another Code or state provision separately authorizes it.