Bessemer, AL Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

Bessemer's Code of Ordinances doesn't single out any dog breed for restriction or a special declaration process; Chapter 14, Article II (Dogs) regulates dangerous dogs by their conduct instead. Section 14-57, titled 'Vicious dogs; confinement,' provides that no owner or any other person in charge of a vicious dog may harbor or keep it at any place or on any premises within the corporate limits unless the dog is securely confined or bound in a manner that prevents it from biting or attacking a person or another animal.

The section doesn't define 'vicious' by breed, size or prior incident; it applies to whichever dog is, in fact, vicious, and places the confinement duty on the owner or custodian regardless of breed. It sits directly beside Section 14-58's blanket at-large ban and Section 14-56's noisy-dog nuisance rule, all three enforced together under Chapter 14. A resident researching breed-specific rules for Bessemer will not find one: the city's only dangerous-dog measure is this conduct-based confinement duty, which applies equally to a mixed-breed dog with a bite history and a purebred one, so ownership of a particular breed carries no separate registration, insurance or muzzle mandate under this code.