Stafford Township, NJ Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Section 60-26, Wildlife feeding, was added 10-4-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-91 and amended 11-18-2008 (Ord. No. 2008-118) and 4-11-2023 (Ord. No. 2023-09). It defines to FEED as to give, place, expose, deposit, distribute or scatter any edible material with the intention of feeding, attracting or enticing wildlife, and excludes baiting in the legal taking of fish and game. WILDLIFE means all animals that are neither human nor domesticated.

Subsection B bars feeding in any public park or on any other property owned or operated by the Township of Stafford. Confined wildlife is excluded, with wildlife confined in zoos, parks or rehabilitation centers, and unconfined wildlife at environmental education centers, given as examples. Subsection C extends the ban to any private property. Its species list covers seagulls, ducks, squirrels, raccoons, Canada geese and waterfowl, but it is expressly not limited to them, and the definition reaches all animals that are neither human nor domesticated.

Subsection D names three enforcers: the Police Department, any Animal Control Officer, or the Code Enforcement Officer of the Township. A person found in violation shall be ordered to cease the feeding immediately.

Subsection E carves out songbirds and other backyard birds, outdoors on private property, only if four conditions hold: the feeding does not create an accumulation of droppings on neighboring properties, or on the feeder's property such that the accumulation is discernible by sight or smell from a neighboring property; the property does not become an attractant for rodents or other wild animals; all birdfeeders are placed at least five feet above the ground; and the birdfeeder's capacity for seed is no more than five pounds.

Subsection F makes every property owner responsible for removing any material placed on the owner's property in violation. Under subsection G, failure to remove such materials or to make the required modifications within 24 hours after notice from the Township is a violation, subject to the penalties established by § 60-28.