Hesperia Municipal Code does not contain a stand-alone ordinance prohibiting the feeding of wildlife. The City's Wild Animals page warns residents about Mojave rattlesnakes, mountain lions, Africanized bees and mosquitoes and directs nuisance-wildlife complaints to Animal Control (760) 947-1700, but it does not impose a feeding ban. State law fills the gap: California Fish & Game Code §4150 makes it unlawful to harass non-game mammals (which includes feeding that habituates them), and 14 CCR §251.1 prohibits harassing wildlife in a manner that disrupts their normal behavior. Feeding bears, mountain lions and coyotes is specifically discouraged by CDFW because it creates public-safety hazards subject to depredation permits or destruction under §4181.
A search of Hesperia Title 6 (Animal Care and Control) and Title 16 Ch. 16.20 Art. XIII finds no section that, by its title, bans 'feeding wildlife.' The City's published guidance on the official Wild Animals page (hesperiaca.gov/463) is informational only — it identifies risks from rattlesnakes, mountain lions and bees in the High Desert / Mojave WUI environment and routes calls to Animal Control. State preemption applies through Cal. Fish & Game Code §4150 (protection of non-game mammals) and 14 CCR §251.1 ('Harassment of Animals') which together prohibit conduct — including intentional feeding — that significantly disrupts wildlife behavior. CDFW guidance states that artificially feeding bears, coyotes, or mountain lions creates a 'public nuisance' that can result in the animal being killed under §4181 depredation authority. San Bernardino County may also issue specific advisories for the High Desert (e.g., coyote attractants). Generic bird feeders are not prohibited but should not be allowed to attract bears or coyotes; cluttered yards that attract rats may be abated under the Hesperia property-maintenance provisions of Title 8.
No direct fine exists under the Hesperia Municipal Code for feeding wildlife. Conduct that habituates protected mammals can be charged under Cal. Fish & Game Code §4150 (misdemeanor, up to $1,000 fine and/or six months in jail) and 14 CCR §251.1 (harassment of wildlife). Property conditions that attract vermin can be abated as a public nuisance under Title 8 of the Hesperia Municipal Code.
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