Bergen County, NJ Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Art. III § (b) Animals/Wildlife, ¶3
- Prohibited acts
- Feed, harm, hunt, kill, trap, or interfere
- Scope
- Every Bergen County park and reservation
- Enforcement agency
- Sheriff's Office and Parks Department staff
- Fine range
- $100 to $2,000 under Article IX
- Adopted
- March 19, 2025
Summary
Feeding, harming, or interfering with wildlife anywhere in the Bergen County Parks System is prohibited outright under Article III of the county's Parks System Rules and Regulations. The ban covers deer, geese, ducks, and every other wild animal on park grounds, not just game species, and applies alongside a household-pets-only rule that keeps loose or feral animals out of the parks entirely.
3. No person shall feed, harm, hunt, kill, wound, trap chase, remove, or interfere in any manner whatsoever with the wildlife in or on park premises or any part thereof.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: the cited page had not changed since it was quoted.
Full Breakdown
Article III, Section (b) of the Bergen County Parks System Rules and Regulations, adopted March 19, 2025, opens with a household-pets-only limit before turning to wildlife in paragraph 3: no person shall feed, harm, hunt, kill, wound, trap, chase, remove, or interfere in any manner whatsoever with the wildlife in or on park premises or any part thereof. The verb list is deliberately broad, reaching a visitor who tosses bread to geese at Overpeck County Park's lake or leaves corn out for deer along the Ramapo Valley Reservation trails just as much as it reaches trapping or hunting.
The same section separately bars fishing without a valid state license in paragraph 9 and requires any licensed animal on the premises to carry that license, so the feeding ban sits inside a broader scheme that treats park wildlife as protected from human contact rather than as an attraction to be encouraged. The James A. McFaul Environmental Center, which houses live native species, and the Bergen County Zoo carry their own posted rules on top of this baseline ban. Because the prohibition names no exception for 'harmless' feeding, ordinary practices like scattering seed for ducks or leaving food out for stray cats near a picnic area fall squarely within the rule.
Enforcement runs through Article IX: designated Parks employees and the Bergen County Sheriff's Office patrol the grounds and can eject a violator on the spot.
Violations & Fines
A wildlife-feeding violation is punished the same as any other unspecified offense under Article IX, Enforcement/Fines & Penalties: a fine of no less than $100 and not more than $2,000, up to 90 days in the county jail or an equivalent term of community service, or both. A second violation of the same rule within one year draws an additional, separately calculated fine, and the Sheriff's Office or Parks staff can eject or ban a repeat visitor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I feed the geese or ducks at a Bergen County park?
Is it illegal to leave food out for deer along a park trail?
What if I'm just feeding stray cats near a picnic area?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bergen County
Compare Bergen County to another location·View the New Jersey animal ordinances overview
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