Roseville, CA Animal Ordinances: Bird Protection (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- RMC § 8.02.310
- Where it applies
- All city parks
- Penalty class
- Infraction or misdemeanor
- Exception
- State-permitted sport fishing
- Enforcement
- Park rangers, police
- Adopted
- Ordinance 2163, 1988
Summary
Roseville bans hunting, molesting, chasing, capturing, or harming any bird or other vertebrate wildlife inside city parks under Municipal Code Section 8.02.310. Violators face an infraction or misdemeanor charge at the city attorney's discretion. State-permitted sport fishing is the only carved-out exception, and even that can be closed by posted signage.
A. It is unlawful to hunt, molest, chase, tease, capture, take, harm, or shoot, or to attempt to hunt, molest, chase, tease, capture, take, harm, or shoot, any vertebrate animal or wildlife in any park; provided, that sport fishing permitted by state law is permitted unless posted to the contrary. B. Violation of this section may be charged as an infraction or misdemeanor in the discretion of the city attorney.
Full Breakdown
020. The ban covers a long list of specific acts: hunting, molesting, chasing, teasing, capturing, taking, harming or shooting, plus any attempt to do those things, whether the target is a duck at Maidu Regional Park, a heron along a creek trail, or any other vertebrate wildlife on city-owned park land. The rule does not touch bird activity outside parks, and it does not restrict harmless conduct like feeding, watching or photographing birds; it targets acts that hunt, harass or injure them. Sport fishing that the state otherwise permits is exempt unless the city has posted a specific closure notice for that location, so a lawfully caught fish incidentally disturbing waterfowl is not a violation.
Enforcement runs through the parks, recreation and libraries department and the Roseville Police Department. 330(C). Adopted in 1988 under Ordinance 2163, the provision has stood unchanged since, sitting alongside other park-conduct rules in the same chapter covering dog parks, tennis courts and amplified sound.
Violations & Fines
Violating Section 8.02.310 is chargeable as either an infraction or a misdemeanor, with the choice left to the Roseville city attorney's office based on the circumstances of the offense. Park rangers appointed under Section 8.02.330 carry enforcement responsibility for the chapter and may hold citation authority; interfering with a ranger performing that duty is itself a separate infraction or misdemeanor. Repeated or aggravated conduct, such as trapping or shooting wildlife, is more likely to be pursued as a misdemeanor than a first-time infraction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I feed or photograph birds in a Roseville park?
Is fishing allowed if it disturbs birds nearby?
Who enforces the bird protection rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Roseville
California rules heatmap·Compare Roseville to another location·View the California animal ordinances overview
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