Georgetown, KY Animal Ordinances: Bird Protection (2026)

Sec. 6-20(b) of the Georgetown animal chapter protects wild birds in a single sentence. It is unlawful for any person, at any time within the city, to kill, injure, pursue, molest or attempt to injure any birds other than birds of a predatory nature. The verbs are broad: pursuing or molesting a bird is covered even when no injury results, and an attempt to injure counts. The same sentence protects squirrels and rabbits, but only those running at large in the city, while the bird clause carries no at-large qualifier. The code does not define the phrase birds of a predatory nature, so that phrase alone marks the birds left outside the protection.

Birds kept as pets fall under other provisions. Sec. 6-19 defines animal to include pet birds, livestock and poultry, and it excludes captive-bred species of common cage birds from the definition of wild animal. Sec. 6-25(a) requires owners or keepers of animals to provide humane care and treatment, and Sec. 6-26 bars any person from owning or possessing a wild or vicious animal for display, training or exhibition, with AAZPA accredited or educational facilities exempt. Keeping poultry in the city is a separate matter governed by Sec. 6-20(c).

Enforcement runs through the chapter's general machinery. Sec. 6-24(a) lets the city or its designated enforcement officers impound animals running at large or constituting a public nuisance in an animal shelter. Sec. 6-20(b) sets no penalty of its own, so the catch-all in Sec. 6-30(a) applies to anyone who violates it: a misdemeanor conviction carries a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $500, imprisonment of not less than one day nor more than seven days, or both.