California Bans Knowingly Feeding Big Game Mammals

Title 14 CCR section 251.3 provides that no person shall knowingly feed big game mammals, as defined in section 350: deer, elk, pronghorn antelope, black bear, and Nelson bighorn sheep. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife enforces the rule statewide, and wardens treat intentionally leaving food, bait, or attractants for these animals as a violation. The prohibition sits alongside section 251.1, which bars harassing or disrupting any bird or mammal's normal feeding, breeding, or sheltering. Under Fish and Game Code section 12000, violating a Fish and Game regulation is a misdemeanor. Hunting over a baited area also triggers separate take violations under section 257.5.

Knowingly feeding deer, bear, or other big game is a misdemeanor under Fish and Game Code section 12000, prosecuted by CDFW wildlife officers; hunting over a resulting baited area carries separate take violations.