Sandoval County, NM Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Chapter 14, Article III is titled the 'free-roaming horse feeding ordinance,' adopted by Ord. No. 10 on May 24, 2023. ' Section 14-41 defines 'feed' broadly as providing food, hay, salt, or other nutrients, and defines 'horse' as any animal in the taxonomic family Equidae, so the ban covers more than intentional grain feeding, salt licks and hay drops count too. Section 14-43 sets two affirmative defenses a person charged can raise, with the burden of proof on the defendant: the horse fed was owned by the feeder or fed with the owner's permission, or the feeding occurred on land owned by the United States or held in trust by the United States for an Indian tribe, which matters given the Pueblos within county boundaries.

The ordinance does not extend to deer, geese, coyotes, stray cats or other wildlife; those species aren't defined or referenced anywhere in Article III, and no other chapter 14 provision addresses feeding wildlife generally.