Monroe Township (Middlesex County), NJ Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Chapter 129 of the Monroe Township Code (Middlesex County) was adopted by the Mayor and Council on May 2, 2005 as Ordinance No. O-5-2005-022. Section 129-1 states the purpose: to prohibit the feeding of unconfined wildlife in any public park or on any other property owned or operated by the Township of Monroe, to protect public health, safety and welfare, and to prescribe penalties.

The operative rule is § 129-1.2: no person shall feed any wildlife in a public park or on any other Township-owned or Township-operated property. The ban is written broadly. Section 129-1.1 defines WILDLIFE as all animals that are neither human nor domesticated, so deer, geese, waterfowl, raccoons and similar animals all fall within it, and the section does not list species. PERSON covers any individual, corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, or political subdivision of the state subject to municipal jurisdiction.

FEED is defined as giving, placing, exposing, depositing, distributing or scattering any edible material with the intention of feeding, attracting or enticing wildlife. Feeding does not include baiting in the legal taking of fish and game, so lawful fishing bait on Township waters is outside the ban. The only other exclusion is for confined wildlife, which the section illustrates with wildlife confined in zoos, parks or rehabilitation centers, and unconfined wildlife at environmental education centers.

The chapter's stated purpose is limited to public parks and other Township property, and the prohibited-conduct section carries the same limit. Enforcement belongs to the Monroe Township Police Department and the Animal Control Officer of the Township of Monroe under § 129-1.3. The first step is a cease order: any person found in violation shall be ordered to cease the feeding immediately. Section 129-1.4 then sets the penalty for violations.