Margate, FL Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Section 6-63 is a single sentence, and its reach depends on section 6-60. Section 6-60(a) makes it unlawful to maintain, raise or house ducks, along with chickens, geese, pigeons, doves, cattle, horses, sheep and goats, within the city. It excludes migratory birds, and subsection (b) exempts bona fide pet shops, veterinarian clinics, hospitals, shelters and pet motels, plus individuals caring for indigenous fowl or poultry in numbers of no more than three animals at one time. Read together, section 6-63 leaves one lawful category of duck feeding: ducks that are boarded, maintained and housed in compliance with section 6-60. Every other duck is off limits for handouts.

Two features of the text matter. First, it says 'feed, or leave food for,' so putting out bread or seed for ducks to find later is covered just as hand feeding is. Second, section 6-63 itself names ducks and nothing else. It does not mention geese, deer or stray animals, so this section cannot be cited as a general wildlife feeding ban. Section 6-63 also contains no exception for migratory ducks. The migratory-bird exclusion appears in section 6-60(a) and speaks only to keeping birds.

Enforcement follows chapter 6. The city animal control officer, a position inside the police department under sections 6-76 and 6-79, enforces the chapter through warnings, summonses, citations and impounding under section 6-78. Section 6-33 makes it a violation to hinder or interfere with that officer, and continuous violations are reported to the city manager, who authorizes the city legal department to abate them. The citation schedule in section 1-8 lists an animal nuisance category at $25.00, $75.00 and $150.00 for the first three offenses and $150.00 to $500.00 for the fourth.