Pontiac, MI Animal Ordinances: Bird Protection (2026)

Section 18-13, Hunting animals prohibited, sits in Chapter 18's general animal provisions and protects specifically named wild birds from being hunted within Pontiac. Subsection (a) bars any person from hunting for, pursuing, killing or destroying, by any means whatsoever, including firearms, air rifles, slingshots or bow and arrows, any bird commonly known as a pheasant, grouse, partridge or duck, or any animal commonly known as a deer, rabbit, squirrel or raccoon, within the city limits. Subsection (b) then broadens the rule past the named species: all hunting of any animals in the city is prohibited outright, regardless of species or method.

The section traces to § 6-13 of the 1985 Code and was last amended by Ordinance No. 2396 on July 12, 2022. It sits alongside § 18-18(d), which separately bars feeding most wild animals and birds in the city, and § 18-1's definition of Fowl as any and all fowl, domesticated and wild, male or female. Because § 18-13 sets no penalty of its own, the Code's general penalty clause, § 1-25, controls: violators face a fine of up to $500.00, imprisonment for up to 90 days in the city or county jail, or both, at the court's discretion, with a repeat-offense floor of at least $500.00 and/or 90 days imprisonment under § 1-25(b). Enforcement of Chapter 18 runs through the Pontiac Police Department under § 18-2.