Feeding wild geese in West Fargo will now run afoul of new city ordinance

(Fargo, ND) -- The City of West Fargo has enacted a new ordinance making it illegal for residents to feed wild geese.

"This came up as a concern basically from some residents in a particular neighborhood in West Fargo that were having issues with large amounts of geese," said Police Chief Dennis Otterness.

He says the new ordinance went into effect Monday. The city commission approved the ordinance after residents in some neighborhoods said the birds were becoming a nuisance, after being attracted by residents setting out food for the birds. Fines for people caught violating the ordinance will range from $50 to $100 dollars, but could increase to $1,000 for repeat offenders.

"With wild game or animals a lot of times feeding of those animals will cause them to keep coming back," said Otterness. 

Hanging bird feeders are still allowed to be used as long as they hang at a height of no less than five feet off the ground. 

 

Original Air Date: 
Wednesday, December 7, 2022