Knox County has no blanket ordinance banning backyard bird or squirrel feeding, but feeding that attracts nuisance wildlife or bears can draw complaints. Tennessee prohibits feeding wild animals in ways that create hazards, and TWRA enforces state wildlife rules, especially the ban on feeding bears.
There is no general Knox County ordinance forbidding residents from feeding songbirds or backyard wildlife. However, feeding that draws nuisance animals, or that habituates dangerous wildlife, can trigger nuisance enforcement and state action. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency regulates wildlife statewide and specifically discourages and can penalize feeding of black bears, since food-conditioned bears become dangerous and must sometimes be euthanized. Intentionally placing food, garbage, or attractants that draw bears or other big game is treated as a wildlife-management violation. Residents in wooded parts of the county should secure garbage and avoid leaving pet food outdoors.
Feeding bears or big game is a state wildlife violation enforced by TWRA and can bring citations; nuisance feeding may be abated under county nuisance rules.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Knox County does not prohibit backyard composting for households. The zoning code only regulates commercial-scale composting facilities, which are solid-wast...
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Knox County has no ordinance regulating artificial turf on residential property. Synthetic lawns are neither required nor banned; large installations should ...
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Knox County has no rule requiring native plants in home yards, but its zoning ordinance requires native shade trees in new parking lots and along streets in ...
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Knox County has no ordinance prohibiting or specially regulating residential rain barrels or rainwater collection. Tennessee does not restrict rainwater harv...
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Knox County does not impose a general ordinance restricting lawn or garden watering days or hours. Any watering limits come from your individual water utilit...
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Knox County treats vines, grass, weeds and other vegetation that reaches 12 inches or more as a presumed public nuisance on residential property. Owners must...
See how Knox County's wildlife feeding rules stack up against other locations.
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