Fort Collins, CO Animal Ordinances: Bird Protection (2026)

Sec. 4-156 declares the area within the City a bird sanctuary for the refuge of wild birds and urges residents to protect them and encourage their propagation. Sec. 4-157 backs that designation with an enforceable ban: it is unlawful for any person at any time in the City to shoot at, wound, kill, capture, ensnare, net, trap or in any other manner molest or injure any wild bird, or to molest or damage a nest with eggs, or injure the young of any such bird.

The Chief of Police can grant or deny a permit to kill, capture or otherwise molest nuisance birds, but only with the consent or approval of the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife and only where the birds are shown to be, or may become, a nuisance or health hazard at a particular City location. The code requires the Chief to act on a permit request within five working days, so applicants get a fast administrative answer rather than an open-ended review. Because Sec. 4-157 is one of the small list of Chapter 4 provisions carved out for criminal treatment rather than a civil infraction, unpermitted harm to wild birds is prosecuted as a misdemeanor rather than a code-enforcement ticket.