Gary, IN Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)

Section 8-9 of the Gary Municipal Code groups bees with keeping restrictions used for farm animals. Subsection (a) bars keeping horses, cattle, goats, sheep, swine, or rabbits within 200 feet of another person's dwelling house, and subsection (b) applies the same 200-foot measurement to bees, making it unlawful to keep bees within 200 feet of the dwelling house of any person other than the keeper or owner of the bees. Unlike the poultry rule at § 8-8(b), which exempts licensed poultry dealers, § 8-9 contains no exemption for licensed apiarists or small hobbyist hives, so the 200-foot line applies to every beekeeper in the city regardless of the number of colonies kept.

Because Article I of Chapter 8 sets no separate fine for § 8-9, a violation defaults to the general animal-chapter penalty at § 8-2(a): the keeper is guilty of an offense, and a conviction automatically revokes any animal-related license or permit issued to that person. Enforcement of the distance rule runs through the animal control center and Gary Police Department officers under § 8-39, the same office that enforces the parallel poultry and livestock distance rules, and a complaint that bees are kept within 200 feet of a neighboring dwelling is investigated the same way an at-large livestock complaint would be.