Lawrence, MA Animal Ordinances: Bird Protection (2026)

Section 12.24.040, part of Chapter 12.24 (Public Parks, Playgrounds and Similar City-Owned Properties), bars anyone from stoning or otherwise molesting squirrels, doves or other pet creatures within any park or playground of the city. It traces back to prior code Section 21-3 and sits among a cluster of park-conduct rules: Section 12.24.030 bans removing, cutting, breaking or defacing any building, structure, fence, tree, bush, plant or turf in a park; Section 12.24.050 requires written Department of Public Works permission before discharging a firearm, building a fire, or setting off fireworks in a park; and Section 12.24.070 separately bans annoying other persons, gambling and indecent acts on the same property.

Section 12.24.110 requires every park visitor to obey the reasonable directions of a police officer, which is how Lawrence Police enforce the doves-and-squirrels rule in practice, since no dedicated animal-control unit is named in this chapter. Violations of Chapter 12.24, including molesting park wildlife, are punished under the city's general penalty, Section 1.16.10: a fine of not more than $300 for each offense, and each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense. The provision is narrow by design: it protects animals commonly encountered by park users on city-owned grounds rather than establishing a citywide wildlife-protection scheme, which in Massachusetts is otherwise a matter of state law.