Portland, ME Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

Maine Revised Statutes Title 7, § 3950 (Local regulations) authorizes municipalities to adopt animal-control ordinances as strict as or stricter than state law, with one explicit exception: 'municipalities may not adopt breed-specific ordinances, laws or regulations.' This is a state-level preemption — Portland, like every Maine municipality, cannot lawfully ban pit bulls, Rottweilers, or any other breed, and cannot impose breed-specific muzzling, insurance, registration, or housing requirements. Instead, Maine regulates problem dogs through the breed-neutral 'dangerous dog' framework at 7 MRS § 3907(12-D) and the dangerous-dog hearing/disposition framework at 7 MRS § 3952 et seq. Under those statutes, any individual dog — regardless of breed — may be declared dangerous after a hearing if it caused death or serious bodily injury to a person or domestic animal off the owner's premises, or caused a reasonable person to fear imminent serious injury, or is a previously declared 'nuisance dog' that has inflicted injury. A dangerous-dog declaration can require muzzling, secure confinement, liability insurance, posted warnings, microchipping, or euthanasia depending on the facts. Portland Animal Control enforces this framework. Landlords, condo associations, and insurers may apply private breed rules under lease or policy terms — those are not government restrictions and are outside the § 3950 prohibition.