Yes, it is illegal to feed raccoons in Florida whenever the feeding creates or is likely to create a public nuisance. The rule is set in Florida Administrative Code 68A-4.001(3), enforced by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), and it reaches well beyond hand-feeding. Leaving pet food on the porch, letting garbage sit in an open can, or running a bird feeder that draws raccoons at night can all put you on the wrong side of it. A first citation carries a $50 civil penalty, and unlike the parallel rule for bears, no written warning is required first.
What the Rule Prohibits
Rule 68A-4.001(3) bans intentionally placing food or garbage, allowing food or garbage to be placed, or offering food or garbage in a way that attracts raccoons, coyotes, or foxes when the behavior creates or is likely to create a public nuisance.1Legal Information Institute. Florida Administrative Code 68A-4.001 – General Prohibitions The phrase “likely to create” does a lot of work. FWC officers do not have to wait for an actual problem before writing a citation. If your conduct is the kind that predictably pulls raccoons into a residential area, that is enough.
A separate provision in the same rule addresses bears and requires FWC to issue a written warning before a citation. There is no equivalent warning step for raccoons.1Legal Information Institute. Florida Administrative Code 68A-4.001 – General Prohibitions The prohibition applies from the moment food is placed, and you can be cited on the first encounter.
Everyday Behaviors That Count as Feeding
Deliberately putting food out for a raccoon is the clearest violation, but the rule reaches “allowing” food to be placed in a way that attracts them. Several common household habits fit that description.
Outdoor Pet Food
A bowl of dog or cat food left on the porch overnight is one of the most common triggers for FWC attention. Intent matters less than result. If the bowl regularly draws raccoons, you are allowing food to be placed in a way that attracts them. Raccoons are primarily nocturnal, so bringing pet food inside before dark cuts the risk substantially.
Unsecured Garbage
Trash cans with loose or missing lids give raccoons a predictable food source and train them to come back. The state treats accessible garbage as functionally equivalent to feeding, because it is an artificial food source you control. Animal-resistant containers with locking lids run roughly $70 to $160, less than a single fine and far less than the property damage or professional removal costs that follow once raccoons settle in.
Bird Feeders
A standard bird feeder can attract raccoons, especially when seeds spill onto the ground or the feeder is easy to reach at night. Whether it crosses the legal line depends on whether it effectively works as a raccoon attractant. Mounting the feeder on a pole with a baffle at least five feet above the ground, keeping it at least ten feet from any tree, fence, or structure a raccoon could jump from, and bringing it inside before dark all reduce the risk.
Feral Cat Feeding Stations
People who feed feral cat colonies run into a real conflict. Food set out for cats inevitably draws raccoons. Under 68A-4.001(3), what matters is whether food attracts raccoons in a nuisance-creating way, not whether raccoons were the intended audience. Colony caretakers face the same enforcement exposure as someone feeding raccoons directly.
Fines and What Happens If You Ignore a Citation
Wildlife violations are handled under Section 379.401 of the Florida Statutes. A first violation of an FWC rule is a noncriminal infraction, closer to a traffic ticket than a criminal charge, and carries a $50 civil penalty. A repeat of the same violation within 36 months raises the penalty to $250. If you contest the citation in county court or are required to appear, the court can impose a civil penalty of up to $500 for repeat violations.2The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 379.401 – Penalties and Violations
Ignoring the citation is where things escalate. Refusing to sign it, failing to pay the fine, or not showing up to court converts the matter into a second-degree misdemeanor, which carries up to $500 in additional fines and up to 60 days in county jail.3The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 775.083 – Fines The jail exposure does not come from the feeding itself. It comes from ignoring the legal process after being cited.
When Feeding Raccoons Is Legal
A few narrow exceptions exist, and each requires state authorization.
- Licensed wildlife rehabilitators can feed sick, injured, or orphaned raccoons as part of temporary care aimed at release. This requires an FWC permit, and the rehabilitation must minimize human interaction while maximizing the animal’s chances of surviving on its own.4Legal Information Institute. Florida Administrative Code 68A-9.006 – Wildlife Rehabilitation Permit
- Property owners dealing with nuisance raccoons may use live traps or snares, and bait inside a trap is permitted. All traps and snares must be checked at least once every 24 hours. Using firearms to take nuisance raccoons at night requires both a Gun and Light at Night Permit and a hunting license.5Legal Information Institute. Florida Administrative Code 68A-9.010 – Taking Nuisance Wildlife6Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. FAQs: Nuisance Wildlife
Outside those situations there is no personal-use exemption and no backyard exception. If food attracts raccoons and creates or is likely to create a nuisance, it violates the rule.
Other Rules That Can Stack on Top
State law is not the only layer. Many Florida homeowners associations have bylaws prohibiting wildlife feeding on community property and can fine residents or pursue legal action independently of FWC. Some have gone to arbitration through the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation to force compliance, and legal costs in those disputes can reach the thousands. If an association obtains a court injunction ordering you to stop and you continue, you face contempt of court, which is a more serious consequence than the underlying wildlife citation.
Individual counties and municipalities can also impose their own wildlife feeding ordinances, and those penalties can stack on top of the state fine. Your county code enforcement office can tell you whether additional local restrictions apply.
On federal land in Florida, feeding wildlife may also violate federal regulations. The U.S. Forest Service can prohibit feeding under 36 CFR 261.58 through site-specific orders, so restrictions vary by location rather than applying as a blanket ban.7eCFR. 36 CFR 261.58 – Occupancy and Use National parks and wildlife refuges have their own feeding prohibitions. On federal land you can face both state and federal enforcement at the same time.
Why the Rule Exists
The prohibition is not only about property damage. Raccoons and bats are the main wildlife sources of rabies in Florida, and a raccoon that associates people with food is far more likely to approach, scratch, or bite, especially around children.8Florida Department of Health. Rabies Raccoon feces also carry Baylisascaris procyonis, a parasite the CDC flags specifically because of the “often-close association of raccoons to human dwellings.”9Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Raccoon Roundworm (Baylisascaris Infection) Regular feeding establishes latrines near the feeding site, concentrating both problems where people and pets spend time.
How to Report Someone Feeding Raccoons
You can report wildlife feeding through FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922 or online at the FWC website. Florida law protects the identity of reporters, so you can remain anonymous and are not required to testify in court. If your report leads to a citation or arrest, you may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000 depending on the severity of the violation. Report as soon as possible and include location, physical descriptions, and any vehicle information you have.10Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Wildlife Alert – Report a Violation