Bergen County does not have a countywide wildlife feeding ordinance, but New Jersey prohibits feeding black bears under N.J.S.A. 23:2A-14. Many Bergen County municipalities ban feeding deer, geese, and other wildlife.
New Jersey law makes intentional bear feeding illegal statewide, including throughout Bergen County, with enforcement by the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife. While Bergen County has no countywide deer or geese feeding ban, towns like Mahwah, Upper Saddle River, and Wyckoff prohibit feeding deer due to overpopulation and Lyme disease concerns. Feeding waterfowl in county parks is generally discouraged or prohibited under park rules to prevent water pollution and aggressive bird behavior. Feeding feral cats may also trigger nuisance ordinances in some towns. Songbird feeders are typically allowed but must not attract bears or rodents.
Bear feeding fines start at $1,000 per offense statewide. Municipal wildlife-feeding violations typically $100 to $500.
Bergen County, NJ
Industrial and commercial noise in Bergen County is enforced under New Jersey's statewide Noise Control Code, N.J.A.C. 7:29, which sets dBA limits at receivi...
Bergen County, NJ
Aircraft noise in Bergen County, including operations at Teterboro Airport (TEB), is regulated exclusively by the Federal Aviation Administration. Neither th...
Bergen County, NJ
Amplified music and sound is prohibited in Bergen County parks except for official county use or with a written permit issued by the Department of Parks. Out...
Bergen County, NJ
Bergen County Animal Control investigates barking and nuisance dog reports referred by local police, but the underlying barking dog ordinance is set by each ...
Bergen County, NJ
Bergen County does not set countywide residential quiet hours; those rules are set by each municipality under New Jersey's Noise Control Act. The county dire...
Bergen County, NJ
Construction hours are not set at the Bergen County level. Each of the county's 70 municipalities adopts its own permissible construction time window under N...
See how Bergen County's wildlife feeding rules stack up against other locations.
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