Kingsport, TN Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

The prohibition is narrow in both species and place. Sec. 66-110 covers waterfowl and shorebirds and applies only in or upon a park or recreation area; it does not name deer or stray animals. Two acts are unlawful: feeding the birds and allowing them to be fed, so allowing others to feed them is an offense too. The exception is for areas designated for this purpose, and the director of parks and recreation is the official who designates suitable areas for the feeding of waterfowl and shorebirds.

Other park wildlife rules sit in the same article. Sec. 66-103 makes it unlawful to hunt, kill, wound, destroy or ensnare any wildlife, or to have in possession any form of wildlife or parts thereof, in or upon any public park, playground or nature preserve established, provided or controlled by the city, within or without the corporate limits. That section defines hunting to include chasing, attracting, pursuing, trapping and stalking wildlife, but not watching wildlife or taking photographs by an unarmed person, and it exempts an employee of Bays Mountain Park when authorized by the director.

Sec. 66-109 makes it unlawful to pick, remove, damage or destroy any flower, wildflower, shrub, tree or other vegetation in any park or recreation area, except for city employees or volunteers under direction of city officials. Bays Mountain Park is created as a nature preserve in Sec. 66-190, held in trust under Sec. 66-191 for uses that include habitats for plants and animals.