Ames, IA Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Ames Municipal Code Sec. 3.701 prohibits placing salt, mineral, grain, fruit or vegetable material outdoors on public or private property within the city limits for the purpose of feeding deer, naming corn, apples, cabbage, potatoes, acorns, oats, carrots, beets, straw, hay and fodder as examples. The section also bars intentionally feeding deer or causing them to be fed by any other means. A rebuttable presumption of illegal feeding arises whenever more than one-half gallon of such material is placed at a height under 6 feet, or more than one-half gallon is placed in a drop feeder or automatic feeder regardless of height, so residents cannot argue an incidental pile was not meant for deer once that volume is exceeded.

Exceptions cover naturally growing garden and lawn material, unmodified commercial bird feeders used only for birds, and feeding temporarily authorized by the City Council or the Special Urban Deer Task Force for a specific public purpose. The rule sits within Chapter 3's Division VII, adopted by Ord. No. 3933 on 12-04-07, alongside the city's broader urban bow-hunting management program overseen by Ames Animal Control, the Ames Police Department and the Special Urban Deer Task Force created under Sec. 3.603.