Toms River, NJ Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Article VII of Chapter 165, readopted December 9, 2008 by Ordinance No. 4168-08 (replacing a 2005 version, Ord. No. 3939-05), bans feeding unconfined wildlife on township-owned or operated property. Section 165-30 states the purpose: to protect public health, safety and welfare by prohibiting the feeding of unconfined wildlife "in any public park or on any other property owned or operated by the Township of Toms River." Section 165-31 defines "feed" expansively as any act "to give, place, expose, deposit, distribute or scatter any edible material with the intention of feeding, attracting or enticing wildlife," though it carves out legal baiting for fishing or hunting. "Wildlife" is defined as "all animals that are neither human or domesticated," so the ban covers deer, geese, ducks, raccoons and similar animals, not just one species.

Section 165-32 bars feeding any wildlife on township parks or other township property, excluding wildlife confined in zoos, parks or rehabilitation centers, or unconfined wildlife at environmental education centers. Section 165-33 exempts an owner or keeper who needs a disability assistance animal while that animal is in use. Enforcement under Section 165-34 runs through both the Police Department and the Local Board of Health, and any person caught feeding wildlife "shall be ordered to cease the feeding immediately" rather than being cited on the spot for a first observed act. Only continuing or repeating the conduct after that order exposes a person to the fine set at Section 165-35: up to $1,250 per violation, a substantially heavier maximum than most of the township's other animal-control fines.