Queen Creek, AZ Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Town Code § 9-8-5, in Article 9-8 governing Town Property, Parks, and Recreation, states that except as specifically authorized by the Town, the Town Code, or state statute, it is unlawful for any person or organization on Town property to feed or touch any animals, fish, birds, reptiles, or other wildlife, including their eggs or nests. The only carve-outs are the fishing allowance in § 9-8-3(G), which lets people fish in Town-designated waters under a State or Community Fishing License, and prior authorization from the Town itself. The same subsection separately bars removing wildlife from Town property or releasing animals onto it without Town authorization, and bars possessing a glass container, starting an unauthorized fire, or setting up unauthorized vending on Town property, grouping the wildlife-feeding ban with other everyday park conduct rules.

A tougher, separately penalized provision sits immediately afterward in the same section: hunting, molesting, harming, frightening, killing, trapping, pursuing, chasing, teasing, shooting or throwing objects at wildlife on Town property is a Class 1 misdemeanor, a materially higher penalty than the Civil Offense that applies to simple feeding or touching. Article 9-8 was adopted by Ordinance 764-21 on September 15, 2021, and amended by Ordinance 847-24 on October 2, 2024. The feeding-and-touching ban reaches ducks and geese at retention basins and washes within park boundaries, rabbits and birds on trails, and any other wildlife encountered on Town-owned or Town-managed property.