Middletown, OH Animal Ordinances: Bird Protection (2026)

Section 618.14(a)(1) sweeps broadly: no person may catch, kill, injure, pursue, or possess a wild bird other than a game bird, dead or alive, or possess any part of its plumage, skin, or body, or purchase, sell, transport, or ship one into or out of the City of Middletown, Ohio, except as Ohio R.C. Chapters 1531 and 1533 allow. The same division bars disturbing or destroying the eggs, nest, or young of such a bird.

Division (a)(2) carves out exceptions the code spells out by name. Lawful possession of a game bird during its open season is allowed. A property owner may kill a hawk or owl actively damaging domestic animals or fowl while the damage is occurring. Bald and golden eagles and ospreys can never be killed or possessed, though eagles and ospreys may be kept for educational purposes by government or municipal zoos, museums, or scientific institutions. By contrast, the code singles out European starlings, English sparrows, common pigeons other than homing pigeons, and crows as birds that may be killed at any time except Sunday, with their nests or eggs destroyed at any time; blackbirds may likewise be killed except on Sunday when they're damaging grain or other property or otherwise becoming a nuisance.

Division (b) separately bans setting or maintaining any leg-hold trap to capture or kill any animal, not just birds. Division (c) exempts City officers or employees acting under other provisions of the Codified Ordinances. Division (d) makes any violation a minor misdemeanor, and division (a)(3) makes each bird, or any part of one, taken or possessed in violation a separate offense, so multiple birds can produce multiple charges from a single incident.