Boynton Beach, FL Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

Fla. 14 preempts breed-specific regulation statewide: it says local governments may adopt ordinances addressing safety concerns from attacks and may place further restrictions on owners of dogs that have bitten or attacked persons or domestic animals, 'provided that no such regulation is specific to breed, weight, or size' and that the additional rules do not weaken the state Act's protections. That preemption traces to 1990 (ch. 90-180) and was most recently amended in 2023 (ch. 2023-253) to add the weight-and-size language and extend coverage to public housing authority policies.

Boynton Beach's own dog rules in Chapter 4 comply by regulating behavior, not breed. Sec. 4-15 makes it unlawful for an owner to keep any vicious, fierce, or dangerous animal unless it is confined in a secure building or enclosure, or muzzled and leashed under a competent handler's control at all times. The animal control officer may declare a dog vicious after it bites a person without provocation on two separate occasions within six months, or if it shows fierce or dangerous propensities likely to injure someone other than its owner; the declaration must be delivered to the owner in writing.

Sec. 4-16 separately requires that whenever a dog bites a person, the owner must notify the animal control division, which then notifies the county health department, tying every bite into the county's rabies-monitoring chain. Because none of this is breed-based, a dog cannot be seized or restricted in Boynton Beach solely for being a particular breed; the vicious-animal process turns entirely on documented bite history or demonstrated dangerous behavior. Violations of Chapter 4, including failing to confine a declared vicious animal, are civil infractions under Sec. 00 training surcharge, appealable in Palm Beach County Court.