Carrollton, TX Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Section 91.011(D) of Carrollton's Code of Ordinances states plainly: 'Except as provided in section 91.007(A)(4), it shall be unlawful to feed wild animals in any method, excluding fowl.' The cross-referenced exception covers only the city's permitted backyard-chicken program, so deer, coyotes, raccoons, and similar wildlife may not be fed at all within city limits, while feeding wild birds remains legal unless it creates the nuisance conditions described below.

Chapter 91 backs that ban up with two related nuisance provisions. Section 91.011(C) requires that any animal feeding happen only on the feeder's own property and 'from a container designed to prevent attracting rodents.' And § 91.010(B)(2) lists feeding-related public-nuisance triggers enforceable against any resident: storing food in a manner that may attract rodents or other vermin, 'feeding birds or other wildlife in a manner that may attract rodents or other vermin,' and allowing food or animal waste to accumulate so it attracts vermin. Any of those conditions lets the Designated City Official (DCO) or an Animal Services Officer act on a complaint, and § 91.010(B) separately makes it unlawful for a property owner or tenant to let their property 'contribute to a public nuisance' through those feeding practices.

Because the wildlife-feeding ban and the rodent-attraction nuisance rule are separate offenses, a resident scattering feed for deer in a yard can be cited under § 91.011(D) alone, while a bird feeder that draws rats can be cited under the nuisance provision even though feeding birds themselves is not banned.