Piscataway, NJ Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Chapter 5, Article VIII, "Feeding of Wildlife" (Ord. No. 05-31 §§ 34-6.1 through 34-6.5), opens at § 5-23.1 with the purpose "to prohibit the feeding of unconfined wildlife in any public park or on any other property owned or operated by the Township of Piscataway, so as to protect public health, safety and welfare." Section 5-23.2 defines "FEED" broadly as giving, placing, exposing, depositing, distributing or scattering "any edible material with the intention of feeding, attracting or enticing wildlife," while carving out lawful hunting or fishing bait, and defines "WILDLIFE" as "all animals that are neither human nor domesticated," reaching deer, geese, raccoons and any other wild species.

The operative ban at § 5-23.3 applies only to feeding "in any public park or on any other property owned or operated by the Township of Piscataway," and excludes confined wildlife such as animals in zoos, parks or rehabilitation centers, or unconfined wildlife at environmental education centers. Because the ban is limited to Township-owned land, backyard bird feeders and other private-property feeding fall outside this section. Enforcement under § 5-23.4 rests with the Piscataway Police Department "and/or other Municipal Officials," and the first response to a violation is not an automatic ticket: subsection b requires the violator to be "ordered to cease the feeding immediately." Section 5-23.5, as amended by Ord. No. 13-28, caps the fine at "not to exceed $200" per violation, giving officers discretion below that ceiling.