Loveland, CO Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Section 6.28.045 bars anyone from knowingly providing edible or drinkable material, including bones, salt licks and water, to five named categories: bears of any species; deer of any species; raccoons, skunks, badgers, porcupines and similar species (except ferrets and minks); any wild feline other than an ordinary domesticated house cat; and any wolf, coyote, fox or other wild canine species other than an ordinary domesticated dog. A sixth, catch-all subsection covers 'any other wild animal' where the feeding constitutes a nuisance, which the section defines as a material threat to health or safety, material property damage, offensive odors, or any other condition that materially interferes with or disrupts another person's lawful activities on their own property.

The section builds in one narrow defense: it is a defense to a charge under § 6.28.045 that a person is feeding only squirrels and birds other than wild ducks or geese, so backyard bird feeders and squirrel feeding are not swept in, but feeding waterfowl at a pond is. The rule was originally adopted by Ordinance 4804 in 2003 and amended by Ordinance 6120 in 2017. It sits in Chapter 6.28, Keeping of Animals, alongside the exotic-animal ban in § 6.28.040, and enforcement is shared among police officers, animal control officers, and wildlife conservation officers under § 6.32.010.