Bowling Green, KY Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Bowling Green's Chapter V (Animals) does not include a wildlife-feeding section. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) administers a statewide regulatory framework on wildlife feeding and baiting that applies inside the city limits. KDFWR defines 'feeding' as 'willingly, wantonly, or knowingly depositing, distributing, or scattering of shelled, shucked, or unshucked corn, millet, milo, safflower seed, sunflower seed, thistle, wheat, or other grain or any manufactured feed or food product to be consumed by wildlife.' Under current KDFWR rules: (1) A statewide prohibition on feeding wildlife is in effect every year from March 1 through July 31, designed to prevent unnatural congregation during high-risk disease months. (2) Bird feeders within the 'curtilage of the home' (the immediate yard) are permissible year-round - songbird feeding at residential properties is not prohibited. (3) Salt and mineral licks for wildlife are permitted statewide outside Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Surveillance Zone counties. (4) Feeding and baiting are illegal at all times on Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs). Warren County is not currently within the KDFWR CWD Surveillance Zone (which includes west Kentucky counties such as Henderson, Union, and Webster), so the seasonal feeding ban and the standard baiting framework apply rather than the stricter CWD-zone restrictions. Within the city, any feeding that creates a public nuisance (e.g., feed pile attracting raccoons or rats and creating sanitation problems) may also be cited under Bowling Green's general nuisance provisions. Bear sightings in south-central Kentucky are rare, but black bears do occasionally range into the region; if seen, residents should remove attractants per KDFWR BearWise guidance.