Bloomfield, NJ Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Section 134-27.2 of the Bloomfield Township Code, added 12-11-2023 by Ord. No. 23-64, is the Township's wildlife feeding ordinance. Its stated purpose is to prohibit feeding of unconfined wildlife in any public park or on other property owned or operated by the Township. The Township Council recited the reasons: feeding aquatic fish and waterfowl can lead to overpopulation along stream banks and ponds, with more animal droppings, fish kills and disease when human food is not appropriate to a species, and ultimately large accumulations of fecal coliform and potentially diseased wildlife carcasses that degrade the Township's streams and ponds.

The definitions are specific. "Feed" means to give, place, expose, deposit, distribute or scatter any edible material with the intention of feeding, attracting or enticing wildlife, and it does not include baiting in the legal taking of fish and/or game. "Wildlife" means all animals that are neither human nor domesticated, including waterfowl, migratory birds and aquatic wildlife such as fish, turtles and amphibians.

Subsection C(1) bars feeding in any public park or on any other Township-owned or operated property, excluding confined wildlife such as animals in zoos, parks or rehabilitation centers, unconfined wildlife at environmental education centers, and feral cats fed as part of an approved trap-neuter-release program. Subsection C(2) reaches further: it is unlawful for any reason to feed any migratory or resident waterfowl or wildlife on any private or public land within the Township. Subsection C(3) separately makes it unlawful to create or allow any condition that results in a congregation or congestion of waterfowl or wildlife producing an accumulation of feces or droppings, damage to flora, fauna or property, a threat or nuisance to public health, safety or welfare, or a threat to the animals themselves. Subsection C(4) exempts residential bird feeders.