Portland, ME Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Portland City Code Chapter 5, Article III (Sec. 5-110) was adopted by Order 12-02/03 on August 5, 2002. It prohibits any person from intentionally dispensing food, substance, or seeds to feed any species of wildlife on public ways or on property owned or controlled by the city, within the Portland Downtown District as established by Council Order #306 (3/16/1992), amended by Order #185 (2/22/95). 'Wildlife' is defined to include any undomesticated or untamed bird or animal without a known or identifiable owner — explicitly including pigeons and squirrels — but the definition does NOT include dogs or deer. Lincoln Park is expressly exempted from the no-feeding rule under Sec. 5-110(c). The ordinance is principally directed at the public-health problem of pigeon and rodent congregation in the dense downtown core, where accumulated bird droppings and bait food attract rats. Wildlife feeding on private property outside the downtown district is not banned by this section, but may still constitute a public nuisance under Title 17 MRS §2701 et seq. or a rodent-attractant violation under Portland Code §22-15.