Butte County, CA Animal Ordinances: Bird Protection (2026)

Section 16-9, in Chapter 16's general parks article, makes it unlawful to discharge a firearm, or to injure or kill any bird or animal, in any park or playground owned or controlled by Butte County. The same chapter separately protects Bidwell River Park: Section 16-19 makes it unlawful to discharge firearms or kill or injure any bird or animal there without permission first obtained from the Director of Public Works, who under Section 16-12 holds supervision, control, and management of that park. Related sections in the same article reinforce the protective purpose of county parkland: Section 16-5 bars cutting, breaking, or otherwise injuring flowers, branches, or trees in any county park or playground, Section 16-6 bars injuring any grass plot or ornamental ground, and Section 16-8 confines fires to locations the Board of Supervisors has designated and posted.

Because Chapter 16 does not set out its own fine schedule for a Section 16-9 violation, county code Section 1-7's general penalty provision applies: absent a specific penalty, a Code violation is punishable as a misdemeanor by a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment of up to six months, or both, with each day a violation continues charged as a separate offense.