Jonesboro, AR Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

Jonesboro's Code of Ordinances doesn't single out breeds; Section 10-43 defines vicious animal by conduct, an animal that unprovoked inflicts severe injury on or kills a person or domestic animal, or a previously declared dangerous animal that keeps up dangerous behavior after its owner is notified. Once animal control investigates and determines a dog is vicious under Section 10-44, it impounds the dog and must notify the owner within 48 hours, or post notice at the owner's last known address if the owner can't be found.

An owner who contests the vicious determination gets a citation to appear in Jonesboro Municipal Court, and the dog stays in the animal control department's custody, at the owner's boarding-fee expense, pending trial. A guilty finding brings a fine of $100 to $500, plus the costs of boarding and veterinary care, and the dog is surrendered to be checked for rabies or disease before being euthanized; a second or later conviction under Section 10-44 can bring up to a year in the county jail. It's an affirmative defense if the victim made an unlawful entry into the owner's dwelling, and the section doesn't apply to police or law enforcement dogs.

A separate, lighter track exists for dogs declared merely dangerous rather than vicious under Section 10-48: those dogs must be confined indoors or in a locked pen at least five feet by 20 feet, muzzled and leashed to four feet when outside that confinement, marked with warning signs the owner buys from animal control, and microchipped and sterilized at the owner's expense within five working days of the declaration.