Nashua, NH Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Nashua treats wildlife feeding primarily through state rules and general nuisance authority rather than a city-specific feeding ordinance. (1) NASHUA CODE - NRO Chapter 93 does not contain a wildlife-feeding section paralleling those in some other cities. The City may address attractant nuisances (unsecured garbage, pet food left outdoors, bird feeders that draw bears) through its general nuisance and sanitation framework but does not impose a numeric feeding fine. (2) NH RSA 207:3-c - the central state statute governing bait and feed for wildlife is RSA 207:3-c (Bait and Feed for Wildlife), amended by 2024 HB 442 to expand NH Fish & Game's authority to regulate the placement of food and bait for wildlife and to clarify enforcement. The statute (as amended) authorizes the Executive Director to prohibit or restrict the use of bait and feed for wildlife when necessary to protect the health of the wildlife population or public safety. (3) FIS 307.06 FEEDING OF WILD DEER - the Fish and Game Department may issue written cease-and-desist orders requiring a person to stop feeding wild deer when the Department determines that the feeding is detrimental to the health of the deer population or creates a public safety threat. Feeding is the intentional aggregation of food where deer can access and consume it between December 16 and April 16. Until written warning is issued, deer feeding outside that statutory window is not categorically prohibited unless the Department issues an order, but NH Fish & Game strongly discourages all deer feeding. (4) FIS 307.07 FEEDING OF WILD BEARS - the Department may issue cease-and-desist orders requiring a person to stop attracting wild black bears. Intentional bear feeding is presumptively a public safety threat and is enforced aggressively in suburban areas. Bird feeders that attract bears must be removed once a bear is documented at the feeder; bird feeders are otherwise allowed. Garbage left accessible to bears, pet food outdoors, and unfenced barbecue grease can all generate cease-and-desist orders. (5) FIS 307.03 BAITING FOR DEER (HUNTING) - separately, baiting for deer during hunting season is regulated under hunting rules; private-land baiting for deer hunting requires landowner permission and compliance with site-condition rules. (6) MOOSE - moose feeding is treated similarly to deer; with the NH moose population under stress from winter tick, NH Fish and Game discourages all moose feeding. (7) RABIES VECTOR SPECIES - NH Department of Health and Human Services rules under RSA Chapter 141-C (Communicable Disease) authorize public health action against feeding raccoons, skunks, foxes, and bats - the four major NH rabies vector species. (8) CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE - although CWD has not been detected in NH, NH Fish & Game monitors and may impose feed restrictions if detected; the 2024 HB 442 amendments to RSA 207:3-c were enacted in part to give the Department broader authority to respond to CWD risk. (9) ENFORCEMENT - NH Fish and Game Conservation Officers enforce Fis 307 and RSA 207:3-c orders statewide. Failure to comply with a written cease-and-desist order is a violation enforceable as a fish-and-game violation under NH RSA 207:46 (penalties for violations of fish and game laws and rules). (10) PRACTICAL ADVICE - Nashua suburban property owners should secure garbage, take down bird feeders during bear active season (typically April to November), remove pet food bowls from outdoors, clean barbecue grills, and not place food, salt, or apples to draw deer. The NH Fish and Game 'Something's Bruin' bear-conflict program coordinates suburban bear management.