Riverside, CA Animal Ordinances: Coyote Management (2026)

17 addresses human-wildlife conflict directly rather than through a program residents can invoke themselves. 010(A) makes it unlawful for any person to 'feed or in any manner provide food for any coyote and/or burro which is not under the ownership or legal possession of such person', covering everything from deliberately leaving out pet food or table scraps to unsecured trash that regularly draws coyotes. The only carve-out, in subsection (B), applies to a coyote or burro that is trapped, unweaned, or injured: a person may feed it, but only during the window after they've notified the Police Department or the City's animal control agency and before the animal is actually picked up.

020 gives the City, its agents, and its contracted animal-control provider broad authority to 'use all legal means to control coyotes and/or burros and to reduce their number in the City', language that covers trapping and relocation efforts coordinated through Animal Services rather than any lethal-cull program spelled out in the code itself. Residents who want a coyote sighting or an aggressive animal addressed report it to Riverside Animal Services or the Police Department, which can then act under this authority; there is no separate citizen right to trap or remove a coyote independently. 110.