Kingsport, TN Animal Ordinances: Bird Protection (2026)

Section 14-3 of the Kingsport Code is a single sentence: the entire area within the city is designated a bird sanctuary. The working rule sits in section 14-4, which makes it unlawful to trap, shoot, hunt or attempt to shoot or molest in any manner any bird or wild fowl, and unlawful to rob birds' nests or wild fowl nests. The verbs cover more than shooting: trapping, hunting, attempting to shoot and molesting in any manner are each listed.

The code builds in one nuisance exception. If starlings or similar birds congregate in such numbers in a particular locality that they constitute a nuisance or menace to health or property, in the opinion of health authorities, the birds can be destroyed in such numbers and in such a manner as the chief of police deems advisable. The decision belongs to the Kingsport Police Department's chief, not to the property owner, and it rests on the opinion of health authorities.

Section 14-4 also carves out the federal government. The requirement to obtain a permit does not apply to the United States Department of Agriculture, which can respond to requests for wildlife damage assistance involving birds and other such animals in the city, using the methods and activities it deems proper and necessary, without a permit and without notifying the chief of police. The section as printed refers to a permit requirement but does not describe an application process. The ordinance carries a 2009 amendment, Ord. No. 5827.

The chapter's definitions matter here. Section 14-1 defines "animal" as any member of the animal kingdom with a backbone, and the parenthetical lists amphibians, birds, fishes, mammals and reptiles, whether domesticated or wild. Section 14-2 adds that nothing in Chapter 14 impedes, hampers or prohibits the city in establishing and operating zoological parks and wilderness areas.