Rockland County, NY Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Chapter 388, Waterfowl, Feeding of, adopted March 7, 1995 by Local Law No. 2-1995, makes it unlawful under § 388-2 for any person to feed waterfowl on County lands, defined in § 388-1 as any real property owned by the County of Rockland. Section 388-1 defines waterfowl narrowly as those game birds commonly known as geese, brant, swans and river and sea ducks, also classified as anatidae, so the chapter targets geese and duck feeding at county facilities such as county parks and preserves, not deer, squirrels or songbirds, and not property owned by a town, village or private landowner.

The only lawful way to feed waterfowl on county land is inside an area the Rockland County Parks Commission has specifically designated for that purpose from time to time; outside a designated feeding area, feeding geese, brant, swans or ducks on county-owned property violates the chapter regardless of intent. Enforcement runs through the County Sheriff: § 388-3 gives the Sheriff authority to issue an appearance ticket, as defined in Article 150 of the Criminal Procedure Law, for any violation, rather than requiring a full arrest.

Section 388-4 sets the penalty at a violation-level offense carrying a fine not to exceed $250, with no jail term specified in the chapter itself. Because the law is keyed to land ownership rather than geography, whether feeding waterfowl is illegal at a given spot in Rockland County turns on whether the parcel is county property and, if so, whether the Parks Commission has posted it as an approved feeding area.