No statewide law bans feeding wildlife, but Essex County towns prohibit feeding deer, waterfowl, and other wild animals through local bylaws and Board of Health nuisance orders when it draws rodents, bears, or coyotes.
Massachusetts has no general statute forbidding the feeding of wildlife, so control sits with towns and boards of health. Salem, Beverly, Danvers, and neighboring communities ban feeding deer, waterfowl, and wild turkeys, and MassWildlife warns that feeding bears and coyotes creates dangerous, food-conditioned animals. A Board of Health can order feeding stopped as a nuisance under c.111 when it attracts rats or bears to a neighborhood. Baiting or feeding deer to aid hunting is separately barred under state wildlife regulations.
Feeding banned wildlife under a town bylaw brings fines that climb per day. A Board of Health nuisance order under c.111 compels a property owner to stop feeding and remove attractants; ignoring it adds penalties and cleanup costs.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Saugus's wildlife feeding rules stack up against other locations.
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