Janesville, WI Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Sec. 8-159, part of Chapter 8's Article VI (Feeding Geese and Ducks Upon Public Property Prohibited), bars any person from feeding, providing or giving food or any other edible item to a goose or duck, or to a flock of geese or ducks, on public property or in a park within the City limits. The prohibition is limited to public land: it does not reach backyard bird feeders or waterfowl fed on private property, and it does not by its terms cover deer, stray cats or other wildlife, which the City of Janesville's code does not separately regulate through a general wildlife-feeding ban.

The rule sits alongside the City's other animal-control articles in Chapter 8, including the running-at-large provisions of Article IV and the trapping rules of Article V, and it is enforced citywide by the Janesville Police Department. Because the statute targets the nuisance and health concerns tied to concentrated waterfowl on public grounds, such as fouling of walkways, shorelines and park lawns along the Rock River corridor, an officer issuing a first citation has discretion to substitute a warning for a monetary penalty, but repeat conduct escalates directly to the forfeiture schedule set out in Sec. 8-160.