Houston, TX Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

The wildlife-feeding ban sits inside the 'General rules for use' section of Houston's Nature Preserve System ordinance, adopted by Ordinance No. 2022-812 on October 12, 2022. It applies only to city-owned nature preserves managed by the Houston Parks and Recreation Department (HPARD) or by Harris, Fort Bend, or Montgomery County under the article's scope in § 32-117; twenty-eight named sites carry the designation, including Blackhawk Park, Herman Brown Park, Keith-Wiess Park, and Lake Houston Wilderness Park. Section 32-123(b) opens by warning that, except where a special-use permit is issued under § 32-124 for scientific research or non-fee education, users must comply with a full list of prohibitions, and item (9) states flatly that no person shall feed wildlife in the preserve.

The same subsection bars removing wildlife or dumping any live animal, carcass, or remains in the preserve (item 8), and separately bans livestock grazing anywhere on preserve land (item 12). Dogs get a related but distinct rule: owners must stay on designated trails with their pets and immediately pick up droppings under § 6-24, and animals may not enter preserve waters except as § 32-37 allows for canoeing and boating. HPARD staff, county staff, search-and-rescue personnel, and city-authorized veterinary responders are exempt from all of Article XII's restrictions while performing their official duties, per § 32-117.

There is no separate appeal process built into § 32-123 itself; a person cited for feeding wildlife answers the citation in municipal court like any other Code violation, and the only carve-out is the § 32-124 permit track, which the general public cannot use to authorize feeding.