Grand Rapids, MI Animal Ordinances: Bird Protection (2026)
Key Facts
- Protected
- any animal or bird
- Banned acts
- cruelty, abuse, poisoning
- Chapter
- 155, Urban Agriculture
- Poisoning ban
- public or private property
Summary
Grand Rapids makes it illegal to cruelly treat, abuse, or poison any bird within city limits, extending the same anti-cruelty and anti-poisoning rules that protect domestic and farm animals under its Urban Agriculture chapter.
Sec. 9.192. - Cruelty to Animals. (1)No person shall cruelly treat or abuse any animal or bird.(2)No person shall beat, kick, hit, bite, burn or in any other manner cause an animal to suffer needlessly.(3)No person shall cause abusive injury to an animal.(4)No person shall tease or entice a dog or other animal.(5)No person shall give an animal any alcoholic beverage unless prescribed by a veterinarian. (Ord. No. 2023-47, § 2, 10-10-23)
Sec. 9.193. - Poisoning Animals. No person shall throw or deposit any poisonous substance on any exposed public or private place where it endangers, or is likely to endanger, any animal or bird.
(Ord. No. 2023-47, § 2, 10-10-23)
Secs. 9.194—9.200. - Reserved.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 70).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 9.192(1) of Chapter 155 (Urban Agriculture) bars anyone from cruelly treating or abusing 'any animal or bird,' and Sec. 9.192(2)-(5) separately ban beating, kicking, burning, teasing, or giving alcohol to an animal. Sec. 9.193 bans throwing or depositing any poisonous substance on exposed public or private property where it endangers, or is likely to endanger, 'any animal or bird.' Together the two sections give birds, wild or kept, the same anti-cruelty and anti-poisoning protection as domestic and farm animals citywide.
Violations & Fines
Cruelty to or poisoning of a bird under Sec. 9.192 or 9.193 is enforced as a Code violation by Grand Rapids Animal Control alongside the City's other animal-cruelty provisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Grand Rapids protect wild birds from cruelty?
Is poisoning birds illegal in Grand Rapids?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Grand Rapids
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