Tonawanda, NY Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

Section 181-17.1C sits inside the Town's rodent-control measures, adopted by Local Law No. 6-2006, and reaches anyone feeding 'domestic or wild fowl, birds or animals' in the open, language broad enough to cover backyard bird feeding, scattering corn or bread for geese along the Niagara River Greenway, or putting out feed for deer. The rule is not an outright feeding ban: the Town permits feeding done 'in such a manner as to prevent the scattering of feed or seed upon the ground or ground level,' so a properly designed elevated feeder that keeps seed off the lawn is allowed, while scattering feed or bread directly on the grass is not, because loose feed on the ground is what draws rodents, insects, vermin and other pests that the rest of § 181-17.1 is written to control.

The rule works alongside the harborage and firewood-stacking provisions in the same section, all enforced by the Superintendent of Highways and the Code Enforcement Officer as part of the general solid-waste and property-maintenance enforcement scheme rather than by the Police Department's animal control officer. Because the provision sits in the waste chapter rather than the Town's separate dog and cat chapters, it applies regardless of whether the animal being fed is wildlife or a neighbor's pet left outdoors.