Haverford, PA Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Section 49-11 of the Haverford Township Code has three subsections. Subsection A bars any owner or person from feeding, harboring or sheltering feral cats and/or wild animals. Subsection B bars placing any type of food or water unattended on the property where it could attract feral cats or wild animals. The only carve-out in B is for people attempting to comply with Chapter 95, Article IV, § 95-19, the trash container requirements. Subsection C states that bird baths, feeders and houses are permitted.

The definitions in § 49-1 give the ban its reach. A wild animal is any animal born outside domestic captivity, unsocialized to humans, exhibiting a fear of humans or resistant to contact with humans, and also a domestic-born animal that has strayed and become unsocialized. A feral cat is any cat born outside domestic captivity or strayed from it that is unsocialized, fearful of or resistant to humans, or lives outside of a human dwelling. The definition of owner is the sharper edge: an animal is deemed harbored if it is fed or sheltered or permitted to remain on or about any premises occupied by the owner, and any person can be considered the owner of a feral cat or wild animal if the person harbors it. A neighbor who feeds a stray cat can therefore be treated as its owner for purposes of the chapter.

Section 49-8 separately makes it unlawful to keep deer and other listed wild species in the Township. The Animal Control Officer, a sworn officer supervised by the Haverford Township Police Department under § 49-2, enforces the chapter, and the Director of Code Enforcement handles inspections after complaints.