Cumberland County, ME Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

Cumberland County has no county animal code, and no municipality in the county may adopt a breed-specific ban. 7 MRS § 3950, as amended in 2013, states unambiguously that 'municipalities may not adopt breed-specific ordinances, laws or regulations.' This is a clear statewide preemption — Portland, South Portland, Scarborough, Westbrook, Brunswick, and every other Cumberland County town are barred from regulating dogs by breed, appearance, or ancestry. (Note: this differs from the general home-rule rule under 7 MRS § 3950 that allows MORE stringent local animal-control ordinances; breed-specific regulation is the specific exception.) The legal mechanism for restricting individual dangerous dogs is the dangerous-dog declaration under 7 MRS § 3952 (and the criminal civil liability framework in 7 MRS § 3953 for theft, injury, or killing of a dog). Under § 3952, a court may declare a specific dog 'dangerous' after a hearing based on its individual behavior — bites, attacks, or unprovoked aggression — and may order muzzling, confinement, secure enclosure, liability insurance, or euthanasia. Wolf hybrids are separately licensed under 7 MRS § 3922 with abandonment penalties under 7 MRS § 3911-A.