Feeding backyard wildlife may seem harmless, but in Boca Raton, Florida, residents could face a $100 citation if that habit attracts large groups of nuisance animals.<\/p>\n
By a 3-2 margin, the Boca Raton City Council decided that feeding those animals can be treated as a code violation.<\/p>\n
Here’s what to know<\/p>\n
Bird feeders and feral cats are carved out of the measure. Otherwise, the ordinance bars feeding iguanas, rats, mice, or pigeons if doing so is likely to draw or maintain large groups of the animals, per CBS12<\/a>.<\/p>\n Opposition came from Deputy Mayor Michelle Grau and council member Yvette Drucker, while Mayor Andy Thomson and council members Jon Perlman and Stacy Sipple backed both the ordinance and the $100 citation.<\/p>\n Drucker questioned whether the situation called for action and argued that enforcement would be difficult. Grau also raised concerns about enforcement and unnecessary government regulation.<\/p>\n Thomson said addressing residents’ smaller concerns is also part of the council’s responsibility, according to CBS12.<\/p>\n What’s being done?<\/p>\n Boca Raton’s response is a targeted ordinance rather than a blanket ban on all outdoor feeding. By excluding bird feeders and feral cats, it applies only when people feed iguanas, rats, mice, or pigeons in ways that could attract or keep large groups nearby.<\/p>\n Where can I learn more?<\/p>\n Iguanas are a big part of this debate in Florida, where the invasive reptiles can tear up yards and damage other property. Officials there and elsewhere are trying a range of tactics to keep nuisance and invasive animal populations in check.<\/p>\n \u2022 In South Florida, invasive iguanas are tearing up<\/a> yards again despite the cold snap.<\/p>\n \u2022 In Florida, officials say it’s always been part<\/a> of efforts to control invasive iguana numbers.<\/p>\n \u2022 In Taiwan, officials hope to raise bounty to combat<\/a> exploding green iguana populations ravaging communities.<\/p>\n \u2022 In Florida, lawmakers are weighing banning shark feeding in<\/a> state waters as safety concerns grow.<\/p>\n \u2022 In Tennessee, wildlife officials will pay residents $100 to<\/a> help reduce invasive silver carp.<\/p>\n Get TCD’s free newsletters<\/a> for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Feeding backyard wildlife may seem harmless, but in Boca Raton, Florida, residents could face a $100 citation if…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":403275,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[92902,160443,3337,28,30,29,17343,160442,160441,807],"class_list":["post-403274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-andy-thomson","tag-backyard-wildlife","tag-boca-raton","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-iguanas","tag-michelle-grau","tag-nuisance-animals","tag-south-florida"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403274\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/403275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}