Columbia, SC Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

Section 4-61 defines a 'dangerous animal' as one the owner knows or reasonably should know has a propensity to attack unprovoked, cause injury, or endanger people or pets, where an enclosure, confinement, restraint, muzzling or training would not protect the public. The ordinance directs animal control to weigh a list of factors 'by way of illustration and not limitation,' including the animal's behavior, size, temperament, breed, and capacity for inflicting serious injury, along with whether a child under 12 or a vulnerable adult lives or regularly passes nearby, and whether the animal has bitten or trespass-attacked before. Breed is therefore one input into an individualized determination, not a categorical trigger; the code names no specific breed anywhere in Chapter 4.

Once an animal is declared dangerous, Section 4-93 requires the owner to keep it confined indoors or in a securely enclosed, locked pen designed to keep out the public, and to muzzle and restrain it whenever it leaves the property. Section 4-95 requires a prominently posted 'Beware of Dog' sign, in letters at least two inches tall, at every entrance to the confinement area. Section 4-94(e) requires the owner to carry at least $50,000.00 in liability insurance or a surety bond covering injuries the animal causes. Separately, Section 4-62(a) bars issuing a new dog or cat license to anyone convicted of the related dangerous-animal offense under Section 4-91 within the preceding five years, though they may renew a license for an animal already licensed at the time of conviction.