Springfield, OH Animal Ordinances: Bird Protection (2026)

Section 505.11 of the Springfield Codified Ordinances, carried forward from Ordinance 63-181 passed December 30, 1963, bars any person from hunting with a gun or with any other dangerous weapon any bird, quadruped, or other animal within the corporate limits of the City of Springfield. The provision sits in Chapter 505, Animals and Fowl, the same chapter that separately punishes cruelty to animals under Section 505.07, killing or injuring another person's animal under Section 505.05, and poisoning under Section 505.06; Section 505.11's hunting ban is broader in one respect, reaching wild birds and quadrupeds generally rather than only domestic or companion animals, and it applies regardless of whether the shooter owns the land.

Because it is framed as a weapons-based hunting prohibition rather than a wildlife-feeding or habitat rule, it does not regulate trapping, netting, or non-weapon methods, and it does not create any city permit or licensing scheme for hunters; the rule is a flat citywide ban tied to discharging a gun or other dangerous weapon at a bird or animal. It also overlaps with Section 549.02's separate prohibition on discharging firearms in the city, so a hunter using a gun within Springfield can face charges under both sections for the same shot. The ordinance predates modern wildlife-protection statutes and has stood unchanged since 1963.