Waynesville, MO Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

Waynesville's Municipal Code regulates dangerous animals by individual conduct, not by breed. Section 215.020 defines a dangerous animal as one that has, according to Police or Animal Control records, inflicted severe injury on a person without provocation, bitten or injured a person or another animal, been kept or trained for animal fighting, been used to guard property without being a governmental unit's dog, habitually snapped, growled or shown a disposition to bite or attack, or caused a reasonable fear of immediate serious injury; no breed appears anywhere in that list.

Section 215.260 then bans keeping any dangerous or vicious animal in the City outright, except that a specific animal may be kept if the City Administrator, Animal Shelter Supervisor or Animal Control Officer evaluates it and its circumstances and finds it meets Section 215.270's standards. Section 215.270 confirms the case-by-case approach: an animal is dangerous if it attacked a person lawfully present without provocation, or its bite broke skin or bone or required sutures, or a City official declared it vicious, subject to exceptions for provoked attacks and a right to appeal a declaration to the Police and Emergency Management Committee, sitting as the Animal Control Board, within a hearing normally held within ten days.

Once an animal is declared dangerous, Section 215.280 imposes real restrictions on that specific animal: a leash no longer than four feet with a prong or pinch collar outside its home, a securely locked kennel or pen with embedded or floored sides, warning signs reading Beware of Dog or Dangerous Animal on Premises, two identification photographs on file with Animal Control, and written notice within ten days of the animal's removal, death or the owner's move within City limits.