Sarasota, FL Animal Ordinances: Bird Protection (2026)

City Code § 8-5, carried forward from the 1971 Code § 8-10, declares that "the city shall constitute a bird sanctuary, the limits and boundaries of which shall correspond with the limits and boundaries of the city." That wording means the sanctuary is coextensive with the entire municipal boundary, not a park, preserve, or protected habitat area carved out within it. § 8-6, carried forward from 1971 Code § 8-11, then makes it "unlawful for any person to kill, wound, molest, trap or capture any bird, or molest or rob any bird nest of eggs within the bird sanctuary." Because the sanctuary is citywide, the prohibition reaches every yard, park, and right-of-way inside Sarasota, not just designated habitat.

Chapter 8's definitions section, § 8-1, defines "Animal" to expressly include "bird, fowl, poultry," so the chapter's broader animal-control provisions (running-at-large controls, dangerous-animal harboring rules) also sweep in birds, but §§ 8-5 and 8-6 stand as the chapter's dedicated bird-protection provisions and list no exemption for pest species, nuisance birds, or acts on the violator's own property. Neither section sets its own fine, so the citywide general-penalty provision, § 1-11, governs: a violation is punishable by a fine of up to $500.00, imprisonment for up to 60 days, or both, and § 1-11(b) makes each day a violation continues a separate offense. § 1-11(f) also imposes a mandatory, non-suspendable $100.00 contribution to the city's crime prevention fund on top of any court-ordered penalty, and § 1-12 extends liability to corporate officers, partners, and agents who order or authorize a violation on a business's behalf.

A related but legally distinct protection sits two sections later: § 8-7 separately bars killing or molesting squirrels anywhere in the city; that section does not extend to birds and is not part of the bird-sanctuary ordinance.