Palatine, IL Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Palatine Village Code § 6-4 makes it unlawful for any person or property owner to feed or allow the feeding of wildlife by placing or leaving food, feed or seed at the exterior of any public or private property. The single carved-out exception is the use of elevated bird feeders, which remain allowed provided all food, feed or seed placed in them is intended for feeding birds specifically, in a feeder designed for that purpose. Even with a compliant elevated feeder, the property owner or person maintaining it is responsible for removing any food, feed or seed that accumulates on the ground or on surfaces beneath the feeder, so it does not become an attractant to wildlife such as deer, raccoons or geese.

The provision was added by Ord. No. O-42-21 on April 19, 2021, codified at Code 1976 § 5-3.1, reflecting a deliberate village decision to close off ground-level and broadcast feeding of deer, geese, coyotes and other wildlife across the village rather than regulate any single species. Because the ban is framed around the act of feeding wildlife generally rather than owned pets, it sits in Article I of Chapter 6 alongside the cruelty, poisoning and control provisions enforced by the police department and environmental health division.