Coon Rapids, MN Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Section 10-404 of the Coon Rapids City Code sits in Chapter 10-400, "Conduct in Public Parks," but its feeding ban reaches beyond park boundaries: the chapter's opening line covers any person "in a park or on other public property," so a resident who feeds geese at a public boat landing or deer along a City right-of-way is covered the same as someone doing it inside Bunker Hills or Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park. Subsection (2) prohibits purposely or knowingly providing food, feed, or bait to wildlife or waterfowl, or giving them any other substance the person intends them to ingest.

The chapter defines "wildlife" broadly at § 10-401(5) to include animals not normally domesticated in Minnesota, expressly naming coyotes, deer, feral cats, foxes, raccoons, skunks, and waterfowl, and defines "waterfowl" at § 10-401(4) to cover ducks, geese, swans, herons, and egrets. The only carve-out is § 10-404(3): an employee, agent, or licensee of the State of Minnesota, Anoka County, or the City of Coon Rapids may feed or hunt wildlife or waterfowl as part of an official population-control program or when a government agency determines it necessary for the population to survive.

A resident feeding backyard birds on private property is outside this chapter's reach because it targets conduct in parks and on public property, not private yards. The same section also bars hunting, molesting, trapping, or throwing missiles at any animal, reptile, or bird in a park, with a narrow exception for killing venomous snakes. Enforcement runs through park attendants and City staff rather than a dedicated wildlife officer.