Columbus, IN Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

Chapter 6.04 of the Columbus Municipal Code defines a dangerous animal as any animal that, by its behavior or training, constitutes an immediate or serious physical threat to human beings or other domestic animals. The Animal Care Services Commission makes the call, and the definition lists eight factors it weighs. They include the circumstances of any injury or death, whether the animal was provoked or defending itself, the number and seriousness of past events, the owner's ability to control the animal, and the potential for future damage given the animal's size, muscularity and bite strength. Less weight goes to a finding when the animals hurt were hunted for sport or considered vermin, more weight goes to danger to persons than to other animals, and the Indiana State Department of Health Animal Bite Classification System is used to rate the severity of injuries.

The Commission can require an owner to submit the animal to Animal Care Services for evaluation. An owner who refuses is treated as conclusively dangerous: failure to submit the animal results in the animal being conclusively determined to be dangerous.

Once an animal is declared, section 6.08.030 applies. The owner must keep it inside a building or secure enclosure as recommended by an Animal Care Services Manager, and it must be physically confined and securely muzzled or caged whenever it is off the owner's premises. The animal must be spayed or neutered and microchipped at the owner's expense within thirty days of the declaration. The owner must report within twenty-four hours the animal's death, a change in the owner's primary residence, a change in where the animal is kept or boarded, or a transfer of ownership, including the new owner's name, address and telephone number. Animal Care Services keeps a list of declared animals that can be made available to the public on request and on its official website, and the list can include a description of the animal and where it is kept.