Okaloosa County, FL Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Section 5-45, adopted by Ordinance No. 20-20 on November 17, 2020, prohibits feeding birds on any public beach or public waterfront park within "South Okaloosa County," a boundary the section defines by reference to a map as the area south of the situs line at Range Road 215 West and Range Road 213 East. "Feed or feeding" is defined broadly to mean giving, placing, exposing, depositing, distributing or scattering any edible material with the intention of feeding, attracting or enticing birds, so scattering bread or seed for gulls or pigeons on the beach falls squarely within the ban.

The section builds in a three-strike enforcement ladder rather than an immediate fine: a first violation draws only a verbal warning, a second draws a $100.00 fine, and a third escalates to a $250.00 fine and a misdemeanor charge. Both the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are expressly authorized to enforce the section, giving state wildlife officers patrolling the beach the same citation authority as county deputies.

The ban is geographically narrower than the whole county: it applies only in South Okaloosa County's public beaches and waterfront parks, tied to the mapped situs line, and does not by its terms reach private property or areas north of that line.