Rock Hill, SC Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

Rock Hill's dangerous-animal scheme in Chapter 6 is built entirely around conduct, not breed. Section 6-31 defines 'dangerous animal' as one of the canine family that its owner knows or should know has a propensity, tendency, or disposition to attack unprovoked, cause injury, or otherwise endanger the safety of human beings or domestic animals, or one that has made an unprovoked attack causing bodily injury outside its required confinement, or one owned or trained for fighting. The same definition then states directly that an animal is not a dangerous animal solely by virtue of its breed, so no dog breed is presumptively dangerous or banned in Rock Hill regardless of reputation.

Once an animal is found dangerous under that individualized standard, Section 6-37 imposes real restrictions. The owner must confine the dog within a building or a securely enclosed, locked pen clearly marked as containing a dangerous animal and designed to keep out the public, including children; outside that enclosure the dog must be muzzled and under physical control. Owning or harboring an animal for fighting, or training it to attack unprovoked, is separately unlawful under subsection (b), and possessing a known dangerous animal with intent to sell, breed, or buy one is banned under subsection (c), subject to a federal Animal Welfare Act licensing exception.

Subsection (d) lets a law enforcement agent or animal control officer with probable cause petition a court to seize and impound a dangerous animal while a case is pending, or seize it outright where South Carolina Code Section 47-3-730 has already been violated.