Melbourne, FL Animal Ordinances: Bird Protection (2026)

Sec. 10-2, adopted in 2001, designates 'all lands and waters within the city' as a wildlife sanctuary. Within that designation, the code makes it 'unlawful for any person to intentionally kill or injure any bird, waterfowl or wild animal within said area,' with no carve-out for private property, meaning the sanctuary status applies citywide rather than to a specific park or preserve. This sits in Chapter 10, Article I, alongside Sec. 10-1, which separately adopts the Brevard County animal control ordinance as the 'City of Melbourne Animal Control Code' for domestic-animal matters like leash and nuisance enforcement, so bird and wildlife protection under Sec.

10-2 is enforced independently of the county's dog-and-cat animal control program. Because Sec. 10-2 does not carry its own penalty clause, a violation falls back on the citywide general penalty in Sec. 1-14, and intentional killing or injury of protected native species may separately trigger state penalties under the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's jurisdiction referenced elsewhere in Chapter 10's animal permit article, since Sec. 10-25 confirms the city defers permitting of state-regulated wildlife to the FWC. The sanctuary designation does not require a permit or registration; it operates as a flat prohibition rather than a licensing scheme, distinguishing it from the permit-based animal-keeping rules that follow in Article II of the same chapter.