Rochester Hills, MI Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Article III (Deer Management) and Article IV (Geese Management) of chapter 14 were adopted after the city council found that intentional feeding of deer and geese increases traffic hazards, human interaction, disease risk and private property damage, per the findings in §§ 14-90 and 14-93. Section 14-91 provides that 'no person may place or permit placement on the ground or within five feet of the ground any fruit, berries, grain, vegetables, nuts, salt or other edible material or bait which may reasonably be expected to attract or feed deer,' unless the material is covered or protected so deer cannot reach it.

Section 14-94 imposes the identical five-foot rule for geese, covering the same list of edible materials and bait. Section 14-92 exempts naturally growing materials, fruit trees, other trees and shrubs, live crops, plants, flowers and vegetation, ordinary bird feeders, and veterinarians, animal control officers, and federal and state game officials acting in their duties to treat, manage, count, capture or remove deer; § 14-95 provides the same exemptions for geese. A separate Article V addresses turkeys with a parallel feeding prohibition. These sections were adopted by Ordinance No.

525 (deer, 2008) and Ordinance No. 653 (geese, 2024), reflecting the council's ongoing management of the city's growing deer and goose populations around the Clinton River and local ponds and lakes.