Clay County, FL Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

3 defines a "county park" as any real property the county owns, leases, or controls and designates as a park, recreation facility, or conservation or preservation area. 02, Florida Statutes, and section 4-17 of the Clay County Code, so the ban reaches deer, geese, ducks, raccoons, and stray cats and dogs, not just pets. 19, Florida Statutes; certified service animals assisting a person with a disability; animals in organized obedience, conformation, field, hunting, or herding trials; a leashed dog whose handler bags and removes its waste (unless the park is posted as prohibiting all animals); and horses ridden at Foxmeadow Recreational Park, Black Creek Ravines Conservation Area, Clay County Veterans Park, or any other park posted to allow horseback riding.

Enforcement runs two tracks. The Sheriff of Clay County and deputies may warn violators to leave county property, and defying that warning is a separate violation. 27, Florida Statutes, may issue warnings or citations for subsection (b) or (c) violations, following the civil-infraction procedure in section 4-30 of the county code. 083, Florida Statutes, or alternatively as a civil infraction under section 15-20, escalating from a $25 category 1 fine to a $250 category 10 fine for a habitual violation. The rule applies only on county-controlled park property in unincorporated Clay County; it does not reach private land or feeding on a resident's own property.