Reading, PA Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Reading does not have a single comprehensive wildlife-feeding ordinance. Local enforcement runs through Section 141-204 of the Code of Ordinances at https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/readingpa/latest/reading_pa/0-0-0-6432, which prohibits keeping any animal that constitutes a public-nuisance animal or menace to public health — read together with property-maintenance rules against accumulations that attract vermin. Two state-level frameworks layer on top. First, 58 Pa. Code Section 137.33 at https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?file=/secure/pacode/data/058/chapter137/s137.33.html&d=reduce (issued by the Pennsylvania Game Commission under 34 Pa.C.S. Section 103) makes it unlawful to intentionally lay or place food, fruit, hay, grain, chemical, salt, or other minerals anywhere in Pennsylvania for the purpose of feeding bears or elk, or in any manner that may cause bears or elk to congregate or habituate an area. Second, 58 Pa. Code Section 137.34 prohibits feeding wild, free-ranging cervids (deer) within designated Disease Management Areas to limit Chronic Wasting Disease spread. DMA 4, established in 2018 after CWD was detected at a captive deer facility in southern Lancaster County, includes parts of Berks, Lancaster, and Lebanon counties and reaches Reading. The Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Conservation Officers enforce both 137.33 and 137.34. Songbird feeders are not prohibited but should be maintained to prevent spilled seed from attracting rats — under-fed feeders that produce vermin attract Section 141-204 nuisance citations from Reading Property Maintenance.