York County, PA Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

A(9) of the York County Code makes it unlawful to feed wild animals within the park system, naming geese, ducks, deer, birds and squirrels as examples of a list the code says is not limited to those species. A(10) reaches the indirect version of the same problem: storing or leaving food anywhere in the park system in a manner reasonably likely to attract wildlife is its own violation, even without a person actively feeding an animal. The two subsections sit alongside other animal-control rules in the same section: A(11) bars releasing or abandoning any animal in the park system, and A(6) prohibits torturing, ill-treating or neglecting any animal or pet on park property, so the county treats feeding wildlife as part of a broader duty not to interfere with animals on county land, whether wild or owned.

The rule protects visitor safety, since fed deer and geese lose their wariness of people and can become aggressive, and the animals themselves, since human food and concentrated feeding sites spread disease and draw predators. A(9) and (10) under the same authority in § 75-38 that covers every other Chapter 75 rule, and any game or wildlife taken, killed or possessed contrary to state or federal law is separately declared contraband and subject to seizure under § 75-30. A conviction for feeding or attracting wildlife is a summary offense under § 75-39A: a fine of not less than $75 and not more than $800, plus costs of prosecution and restitution, and up to 30 days in jail, or both.