[Adopted 6-15-2016]
The intent of this article is to protect the health, safety,
and welfare of the community and its wildlife by prohibiting the feeding
of wild animals and waterfowl, including ducks, geese, and gulls,
on public and private property in the Town of Camden. It has been
established that feeding waterfowl and other wild animals increases
the potential for damage to public parks and private property, may
elevate the potential for the spread of disease in people, and contributes
to water quality problems in Camden Harbor and Megunticook River.
In addition, it is the intent of this article to protect the welfare
of the waterfowl and wild animals themselves, as wildlife studies
have shown that feeding waterfowl and other wild animals can interrupt
their normal migration patterns, can make them more aggressive in
demanding food, cause nutritional problems, expose them to danger
by eliminating their natural fear of predators, and promote the spread
of diseases and disease-carrying parasites such as ticks.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Includes any bird that frequents the water, or lives about
rivers, lakes, etc., or on or near the sea; an aquatic fowl, including
but not limited to ducks, geese, and gulls.
Includes any animal which is not normally domesticated in
this state, including but not limited to bears, coyotes, deer, feral
cats, foxes, groundhogs, opossums, raccoons, skunks, and waterfowl.
A.
No person shall feed or provide food to any waterfowl on public or
private property in the Town of Camden. It is prohibited to place,
deposit, scatter or distribute in a location accessible to waterfowl
any type of food, including but not limited to corn, wheat or other
grains; bread; popcorn; birdseed; scraps or any substance liable to
be eaten by waterfowl or other wild animals.
B.
No person shall harbor, keep, or feed any wild animal or bird on
private or public property in a manner that creates an unclean, unsafe,
or unsanitary condition, either on such person's property or on the
property of another or of the Town, or that causes annoyance to others
or otherwise deleteriously affects the quiet enjoyment by others of
any private or public property.
C.
This article does not prohibit the feeding of songbirds using well-maintained
bird feeders.
A.
Any violation of the prohibitions in § 15-12 shall be considered a civil violation as defined in 17-A M.R.S.A. § 4-B and prosecuted under Maine Rule of Civil Procedure 80H. The violator shall be subject to penalties of $25 for the first violation of § 15-12 and $100 for the second and each subsequent violation. Each ongoing day of the violation(s) shall constitute a separate offense. In addition to the financial penalties so provided, the violator shall be subject to an injunctive order to cease the violation and conduct any required cleanup, and to an order requiring the violator to pay the Town's legal fees and costs in pursuing any required investigative or enforcement action.
B.
This article shall be enforced by the Town of Camden Code Enforcement
Officer if the violation occurs on private property, and by any law
enforcement officer if the violation occurs on public property.
