Wildlife, Wild Animal Nuisances

Contents

• About Wildlife
• Geese, Ducks, and Other Waterfowl  
• Pigeons and other Roosting Birds
• Sample Ordinance Provisions
• Information Resources
• MRSC Related Web Pages
  • Feral Cats
  • Rodents

About Wildlife

This page addresses problems posed by pigeons, geese, and other wildlife. Animals such as coyotes, deer, opossums, and skunks become problems as urbanization encroaches on their natural environments. Habitat conservation ordinances regulate the development and the use of land to mitigate their impacts on wildlife habitats. Publications of Agricultural Extension Services, Wildlife Services, and the Humane Society of the United States suggest tools and tactics for dealing with human-wildlife conflicts. Some wildlife is regulated by the federal and state governments, such as the Canada Geese noted below. Wildlife classified as protected or endangered in Washington is listed in WAC 232-12-011 and WAC 232-12-014.  Most of the regulations governing wildlife are found in Title 77 RCW - Fish and Wildlife

• US Department of Agriculture Wildlife Damage - Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services 
• Living with Wildlife, USDA APHID Wildlife Services Fact Sheet, November 2001
• Living with Washington Wildlife Series - Fish & Wildlife - Includes bats, bears, beavers, birds, coyotes, cougar, deer, opossums, skunks, raccoons, etc.

Bears

• King County Bear Season Tips
• Black Bears Living with Wildlife in Washington - Washington Fish & Wildlife

Coyotes

• Coyotes - Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management
• Coyote Control and Management Information  - Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management
• Coyotes - Living with Wildlife in Washington, Washington Fish & Wildlife
• Urban and Suburban Coyotes - USDA APHIS Wildlife Services Fact Sheet,  April 2002.
• Born to Be Wild, by Jonathan Schechter, Parks and Recreation, September 2007  - Keep coyotes from getting too comfortable in public places  MRSC Library Loan
• Solving Problems with Coyotes - Humane Society of  the U.S

Geese, Ducks and Other Waterfowl

A number of municipalities have created regulatory provisions regarding the feeding of wild geese. Most ordinance provisions address the feeding of birds and other animals on public, usually park, property, to control their numbers and reduce property damage and health hazards.

• Assistance With Waterfowl - USDA Wildlife Services Fact Sheet, November 2001
• GeesePeace - Building better communities though innovative, effective, and humane solutions to wildlife conflicts
• Snow Geese  - US Fish and Wildlife Service

Canada Geese

Canada geese are considered  a "migratory" species and are federally protected under four bilateral migratory bird treaties. Regulations allowing the take of migratory birds are authorized by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703–711), and the Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 712). The Migratory Bird  Treaty Act (Act), which implements the  four  treaties, provides that, subject to the treaties, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to determine when, to what extent, and by what means it is compatible with the conventions to allow hunting, killing, and other forms of taking of migratory birds, their nests, and eggs. The Act requires the Secretary to implement a determination by adopting regulations permitting and governing those activities. 

In recent years, numbers of Canada geese have undergone dramatic growth to levels that are increasingly  coming into
conflict with people and causing personal and public property damage.  The Fish and Wildlife Service believes that resident Canada goose populations must be reduced, more effectively managed, and controlled to reduce goose-related damages.  New rules were proposed and  go into effect September 11, 2006, that authorize State wildlife agencies, private landowners, and  airports to conduct (or allow) indirect and/or direct population control management activities, including the take of birds, on resident Canada goose populations.

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Division of Migratory Bird Management
  • 50 CFR Parts 20 and 21 Migratory Bird Hunting and Permits; Regulations for Managing Resident Canada Goose Populations; Final Rule  ( 232 KB), Federal Register, August 10, 2006
  • Scoping/Public Participation Report for Environmental Impact Statement on Resident Canada Goose Management
  • Draft Environmental Impact Statement: Resident Canada Goose Management, 2002

• Seattle Goose Program - A cooperative project of Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)
  • Seattle Goose Program off to a Great Start - PAWS Magazine, Issue 58, Summer 2004 
  • Parks and PAWS Prepare to Wrap up First Phase of Goose Program Wednesday, Seattle Parks & Recreation News Advisory, 8/17/2004  

Pigeons and Similar Roosting Birds

Pigeon control can be controversial, especially if the local government chooses an approach which involves killing. A number of cities regulate the number of pigeons a person can maintain. From a health view, pigeons can carry infectious diseases though the incidence is low. There are state regulations relating to certain types of pigeons:

RCW 9.61.190 - It is a class 1 civil infraction for any person, other than the owner thereof or his authorized agent, to knowingly shoot, kill, maim, injure, molest, entrap, or detain any Antwerp Messenger or Racing Pigeon, commonly called "carrier or racing pigeons", having the name of its owner stamped upon its wing or tail or bearing upon its leg a band or ring with the name or initials of the owner or an identification or registration number stamped thereon.

RCW 9.61.200 - It is a class 2 civil infraction for any person other than the owner thereof or his authorized agent to remove or alter any stamp, leg band, ring, or other mark of identification attached to any Antwerp Messenger or Racing Pigeon.

While a local government can regulate citizens feeding pigeons (see ordinance provisions on feeding wildlife below), the solution thought to be most effective is pigeon eradication programs which can be controversial. For further discussion see the National League of Cities Issues & Options, Animal Control, Vol. 5, #1, 1997 regarding pigeon control (pages 3 and 5).

• Pigeon Control ( 182 KB)- Alameda County (California) Vector Control, Revised 4-13-2001 Services District
• Pigeons ( 129 KB) by Judy Loven, USDA-APHIS-Wildlife Services, Purdue University Department of Entomology, ADM-1, revised 200
• Pigeons (Rock Doves) ( 573 KB), David E. Williams State Director USDA-APHIS Animal Damage Control, Lincoln, Nebraska and Robert M. Corrigan, Vertebrate Pest Management Purdue University, 1995, Internet Center for Wildlife Damage, University of Nebraska 
• Pocket Guide to the Humane Control of Wildlife , Humane Society of the United States - Provides humane techniques to remove pigeon populations  MRSC Library Loan

Sample Ordinance Provisions

• Burien Municipal Code Section 6.40.100 ( 23 KB)- Feeding of Birds and Wildlife
• Bellevue Municipal Code Section 3.43.090 - Feeding of Animals
• Everett Municipal Code Chapter 8.52 - Feeding Ducks
• Fircrest Ordinance No. 1256
  Adds a new section to the Fircrest Municipal Code "Section 6.14.015 Outdoor Feeding. It is unlawful for any person to feed or allow any domestic or wild animals or birds to feed outdoors at such times and in such numbers that such feeding creates an unreasonable disturbance which affects the rights of two or more surrounding property owners and renders other persons insecure in the use of their property." Excerpted from ordinance, passed 8-00
• Lynnwood Municipal Code  Section 10.04.875 - Feeding Animals or Leaving Foodstuffs on Public Property
• Ocean Shores Ordinance No. 775 ( 17 KB) - Human Feeding of Wild Birds, passed 5-04
• Redmond Ordinance No. 2294 ( 2 M) - Prohibits the feeding of feral pigeons includes memo from mayor to council, passed 7-18-06

Information Resources

• Canadian Federation of Humane Societies Urban Wildlife
• Critter Crossings, Sensors Keep Wildlife, Motorists Apart, by Tom Kuennen, Better Roads, November 2006.
• Human Society of the United States
  • Wildlife and Habitat Protection
  • Urban Wildlife Sanctuary Program
• Internet Center for Wildlife Damage, University of Nebraska  - This web site was funded through a grant of the National IPM Network and CSREES. The principle investigators are Scott Hygnstrom, Professor and Extension Specialist of Wildlife Damage at the University of Nebraska, Paul Curtis, Assistant Professor of Wildlife Damage Management at Cornell University, New York, Robert Schmidt, Associate Professor & Wildlife Damage Specialist at Utah State University, and Greg Yarrow, Associate Professor of Wildlife, Clemson University, South Carolina.
• King County Wildlife Program - No longer staffed, but provides contact information
• Puget Sound Marine Area Bluffs: Human/Wildlife Conflicts - Greenbelt Consulting
• National Wildlife Control Operators Association
• Purdue University Department of Entomology Wildlife Management Conflict Publications
• Vertebrate Damage Management Resource Guide - Oregon State University Extension Service
• US Fish & Wildlife Service Division of Migratory Bird Management
• Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Urban Wildlife - Creating friendly environment

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