Bristol, CT Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Section 16-2(n) regulates 'wildlife and habitat protection' in every city park unless the board of park commissioners specifically authorizes an activity or confines it to a designated area. Subsection (n)(1) bars feeding, harassing, capturing, removing, injuring, or killing any animal, its young, or its eggs found in a park, and separately bars disturbing the nest, den, burrow, lodge, dam, or other structure of any park animal. The same subsection also reaches related conduct: (n)(2) bans removing plants, cuttings, seeds, berries, nuts, or foliage; (n)(3) bans abandoning or releasing any animal into a park; (n)(4) bans planting or releasing plant or fungus seeds or spores; and (n)(5) bans disturbing woodlands, streams, meadows, ponds, or lakes, or walking through flower gardens or plantings.

Section 16-5 charges both the Bristol Police Department and the Parks, Recreation, Youth and Community Services Department's Park Ambassadors with enforcing the chapter, and either may issue a citation under section 16-6 once a violation is confirmed. Section 16-8 sets the penalty for any violation of the article at an infraction fined $90.00 under the Code's general fine schedule in section 1-11.