Perth Amboy, NJ Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Chapter 422 of the Perth Amboy City Code was adopted by the City Council on 3-14-2007 as Ordinance No. 1383-2007. Its stated purpose in § 422-1 is to prohibit the feeding of unconfined wildlife in any public park or any other property owned or operated by the City of Perth Amboy, protecting public health, safety and welfare.

The definitions in § 422-2 decide how far the ban reaches. To "feed" means to give, place, expose, deposit, distribute or scatter any edible material with the intention of feeding, attracting or enticing wildlife. The intent language matters: the act is scattering or leaving food to draw animals in. "Wildlife" is defined as all animals that are neither human or domesticated, so the ban is not limited to a listed species. Baiting in the legal taking of fish and/or game is carved out of the definition of feeding.

Section 422-3 then sets the operative rule. No person shall feed any wildlife in any public park or on any other property owned or operated by the City of Perth Amboy. Confined wildlife is excluded, and the code names wildlife confined in zoos, parks or rehabilitation centers, and unconfined wildlife at an environmental education center, as examples of what falls outside the prohibition.

The reach of the chapter is tied to City-owned or City-operated land. The text of Chapter 422 does not address feeding on a private yard or other private property, so this chapter is not the rule for that setting.

Under § 422-4, the chapter is enforced by the Department of Code Enforcement, Health, Police and Public Works and by Animal Control Officers of the City of Perth Amboy. Anyone found in violation is ordered to cease the feeding immediately, which puts a stop order ahead of any fine.