Daly City, CA Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)
Key Facts
- Feeding wild birds on city property
- Prohibited, including all city rights-of-way
- Feeding on someone else's property
- Prohibited without that owner's express permission
- Feeding on your own property
- Not prohibited by Section 6.08.090
- Exception
- Feeding stations authorized in writing by the city manager
- Fines
- $100 / $200 / $500 escalating within one year
Summary
Daly City Municipal Code Section 6.08.090 makes it unlawful to feed any bird you do not own, or to place feed intended to attract birds, on any city property or right-of-way (except city-authorized feeding stations) and on any other person's private property without express permission.
Except at feeding stations that are expressly authorized in writing by the city manager or designee, it is unlawful for any person to do the following on any city property or within city rights-of-way: 1. To feed any bird that is not legally owned by that person; or 2. To place any feed of any kind that is intended for consumption by or to attract any bird of any kind that is not legally owned by that person.
Full Breakdown
As part of the 2024 rewrite of Title 6 by Ordinance No. 08 (Prohibitions and Nuisances). 010 to include birdseed, corn, bread pieces, food scraps, domestic animal food, or any similar substance that birds can consume, and 'to feed' as to spread, cast, lay, deposit, or dump feed. On city property and within city rights-of-way, feeding any bird not legally owned by the feeder, or placing feed intended to attract such birds, is unlawful unless done at a feeding station expressly authorized in writing by the city manager or designee.
The same conduct is unlawful on private property owned or controlled by another person without that person's express permission. 020(G) prohibit allowing owned chickens, doves, pigeons, squabs, or similar fowl to fly at large or enter other people's premises. The rules target pigeon and gull congregation, droppings, and rodent attraction in Daly City's dense residential neighborhoods. Feeding birds on your own property remains legal.
Violations & Fines
Violations are infractions under Municipal Code Section 6.10.010, punishable by fines up to $100 for a first violation, $200 for a second violation of the same ordinance within one year, and $500 for each additional violation within one year; administrative citations under Section 6.04.200 carry the same escalating amounts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I feed pigeons in Daly City parks?
Is a backyard bird feeder legal in Daly City?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Daly City
California rules heatmap·Compare Daly City to another location·View the California animal ordinances overview
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Wildlife Feeding in Nearby Cities
How other cities in San Mateo County handle wildlife feeding.