Sarasota County has no set pet-number cap, but keeping too many animals to care for them becomes illegal under the county nuisance ordinance and Florida's animal-cruelty statutes (FS 828.12 and 828.13).
Because Sarasota County sets no numeric pet limit, hoarding is addressed through nuisance and cruelty law. Chapter 14 treats it as prima facie nuisance when animals cause unsanitary or offensive conditions or a pest/parasite problem that is not effectively treated. Overlapping state criminal law reaches neglect: Florida Statute 828.12 makes it a crime to deprive any animal of necessary sustenance or shelter, and FS 828.13 covers confining animals without sufficient food, water, or exercise, and abandonment. Each animal affected can be charged separately, so hoarding cases with many neglected animals can produce multiple counts investigated by Animal Services and law enforcement.
Nuisance conditions bring civil citations; neglect is a state crime under FS 828.12/828.13, chargeable as a misdemeanor or felony, with animals subject to seizure.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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