Duluth, MN Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)
Key Facts
- Deer feeding
- Banned on all public and private land citywide
- Pigeon feeding
- Banned outside suburban-zoned areas (Ch. 50, Art. VII)
- Park exception
- Designated city park feeding areas only
- Zoo exception
- Duluth zoo and its programs exempted
- Penalty
- Minimum fine set under § 31-8
Summary
In the City of Duluth, feeding wild deer is banned everywhere, on public land and on your own property, under Duluth Legislative Code Section 6-78. Feeding pigeons is banned in every part of the city except land zoned suburban and designated park feeding areas, with enforcement by any authorized city employee or peace officer and a minimum fine set under Section 31-8.
(a) Feeding of pigeons or deer. Except for operation of the Duluth zoo and its programs, feeding a wild deer on publicly-owned or occupied, or publicly-controlled, land is prohibited. Feeding of a wild deer or allowing one or more of them to be fed on ones privately-owned or occupied property is prohibited within the city. No person shall feed a nondomesticated pigeon, nor place feed in a place or manner that a reasonable person would expect to result in feeding a nondomesticated pigeon, in any area of the city that is not in a district zoned suburban (or its successor designation), as set out in Chapter 50, Article VII, or its successor, of Duluth City Code, except in a designated feeding area of a city park. ... (c) Penalty. The minimum fine for a violation of Section 6-78, or its successor, shall be set in accordance with Section 31-8 of this Code.
Full Breakdown
Duluth Legislative Code Section 6-78 splits the feeding ban into deer and pigeons. Feeding a wild deer on any publicly owned, occupied or controlled land in the City of Duluth is prohibited outright, with the single exception of the Duluth zoo and its own programs. Feeding a wild deer, or letting one be fed, on privately owned or occupied property is likewise prohibited citywide: the ban reaches backyard feeders as much as public parkland. Pigeon feeding is narrower in geography rather than absolute: no person may feed a nondomesticated pigeon, or place feed where a reasonable person would expect pigeons to be fed, anywhere in the city that is not zoned suburban under Chapter 50, Article VII, except inside a feeding area a city park has designated for that purpose.
Any city employee or agent authorized to issue citations under the Duluth City Code, and any peace officer, is authorized to enforce Section 6-78. The minimum fine for a violation is set under Section 31-8 of the code rather than fixed in the feeding ordinance itself, so the dollar amount tracks whatever council resolution currently sets that fee schedule. The section traces to Ordinance No. 9420 (1999) and was amended in 2005, 2006 and 2012, reflecting the council's continuing focus on urban deer and pigeon overpopulation.
Violations & Fines
A Section 6-78 violation carries the minimum fine the council sets under Section 31-8 of the Duluth City Code. Any city employee or agent authorized to cite Code violations, and any Duluth peace officer, may issue the citation; the Duluth zoo's own feeding programs are the only carved-out exception to the deer-feeding ban.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put out corn for deer in my Duluth yard?
Where can I legally feed pigeons in Duluth?
What happens if I'm caught feeding deer in Duluth?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Duluth
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