Mission Viejo, CA Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Sec. 111, added by Ord. No. 17-322 on January 10, 2017, prohibits feeding or providing food in any manner for wild mammalian predator or vector animals, expressly naming coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions and rodents. The council extended the ban to a further list of species commonly fed by residents: wild raccoons, foxes, skunks, opossums, rodents, rabbits and hares. The prohibition applies citywide and is not limited to public land; leaving out food, whether intentionally to attract wildlife or through unsecured trash and pet food, falls within the conduct the section targets.

The ordinance carves out three exceptions: animals under the care of a licensed veterinarian or a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, animals housed at the City of Mission Viejo Animal Services Center, and animals kept by someone who holds a city permit or license authorizing them to feed those animals. Enforcement runs through the animal services director and officers under the general animal-control enforcement powers in Sec. 040, and a violation of this chapter is prosecuted under the citywide violation provisions in Sec. 070, which allow the city to pursue the offense as an infraction or misdemeanor at the city attorney's discretion, with each day of a continuing violation treated as a separate offense.

The rule reflects the reality of the Saddleback Valley's proximity to open space and coyote habitat, and complements the city's separate rules on animal nuisances and dangerous dog declarations found later in the same chapter.