Wellington, FL Animal Ordinances: Bird Protection (2026)

Section 14-18(A) of the Parks and Recreation chapter defines wildlife creature broadly as any animal, bird, mammal, reptile, amphibian, fish, or invertebrate, sweeping in every bird found in a Wellington park rather than singling out protected species. Subsection B then prohibits a long list of acts against any wildlife creature roaming free about a park or in captivity: no person shall molest, harm, frighten, kill, net, trap, snare, hunt, chase, shoot, or throw or propel missiles at one, and separately no person shall remove or possess the young of any wildlife creature, or its nest or eggs, or collect, remove, possess, give away, sell, buy, or accept as a gift any specimen dead or alive.

Subsection C bars dumping or abandoning any wildlife creature on park grounds. Subsection E carves out three exceptions: horses or dogs used by a law enforcement officer or park security guard on duty, service animals under F.S. § 413.08(d) (though the owner still must clean up after the animal and pay for any damage it causes), and animals or fowl kept by the Parks and Recreation Department itself. The rule sits inside the same section that separately regulates household pets in parks, so it protects wild birds and their nests distinctly from the leashed-dog rules that apply to Neighborhood Parks, the Dog Park, and Wellington Town Center.