Yorba Linda, CA Animal Ordinances: Bird Protection (2026)
Key Facts
- City status
- Designated bird sanctuary citywide
- Prohibited act
- Shooting/harming wild birds, nests, eggs
- Exception
- Nuisance starlings, non-protected birds
- Who can declare nuisance
- Council, Police Chief, Animal Control Officer
- Default penalty
- Up to $1,000 / 6 months jail
Summary
The City of Yorba Linda has designated itself a bird sanctuary and Yorba Linda Municipal Code § 6.36.030 bans shooting any wild bird or damaging a wild bird's nest or eggs anywhere within city limits, with a narrow carve-out letting the City Council, Police Chief or Animal Control Officer order nuisance starlings destroyed.
No person shall shoot any species of wild bird within the City, and no person shall molest or damage the nest or the eggs of any wild bird within the City; provided, that, if the City Council, the Chief of Police or the Animal Control Officer determines that starlings or other nonprotected birds have become so numerous in any particular location or area as to be a public nuisance or for any other reason have become a public nuisance or a menace to public health or property, such fact may be declared and the birds involved may be destroyed or otherwise controlled.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 6.36 declares the entire City of Yorba Linda a bird sanctuary (§ 6.36.010) and requires signs reading 'Yorba Linda Is A Bird Sanctuary' to be posted at the City's principal entrances (§ 6.36.020). Section 6.36.030 then makes it unlawful for any person to shoot any species of wild bird within the City, or to molest or damage the nest or eggs of any wild bird within the City. The only exception applies to starlings or other nonprotected birds: if the City Council, the Chief of Police or the Animal Control Officer determines that such birds have become so numerous in a location as to be a public nuisance, or have otherwise become a menace to public health or property, that finding lets the City destroy or otherwise control the birds involved.
Because Chapter 6.36 carries no fine schedule of its own, a violation falls back on the citywide default penalty in § 1.12.010: a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment of up to six months in County Jail, or both, with the City Attorney able to charge the offense as an infraction instead of a misdemeanor, and each day the violation continues counted as a separate offense.
Violations & Fines
Shooting a wild bird, or damaging its nest or eggs, anywhere in Yorba Linda is punishable under the general Code penalty in § 1.12.010: a fine of up to $1,000, up to six months in County Jail, or both, and the City Attorney may instead charge the violation as an infraction. Every day a violation continues is a separate offense, and the City may also pursue civil remedies such as injunctions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it illegal to shoot birds in Yorba Linda?
Can nuisance birds ever be removed in Yorba Linda?
What is the penalty for violating Yorba Linda's bird sanctuary law?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Yorba Linda
California rules heatmap·Compare Yorba Linda to another location·View the California animal ordinances overview
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