Albemarle County, VA Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

1 defines "agriculture" broadly as "an agricultural operation, the keeping of livestock or poultry, or both, regardless of whether the keeping of livestock or poultry qualifies as an agricultural operation," so even a backyard flock or a few goats counts as agriculture under the Zoning Ordinance, not just a commercial farm. 1(3) lists agriculture as a use permitted by right in the Rural Areas (RA) district, which covers most of Albemarle County outside Charlottesville and the Town of Scottsville, meaning no zoning clearance or special use permit is needed just to keep chickens, goats, cattle or other livestock there.

1(13) extends the same by-right treatment to the Village Residential (VR) district, so hobby livestock is not confined only to the county's most rural zoning. Once animals are on the ground, County Code § 4-304 makes it unlawful for the owner or manager of any horse, mule, swine, sheep, goat or cattle to let the animal run at large beyond the boundaries of its owner's own land, and declares the boundary line of every lot or tract in the county to be, for this purpose, a lawful fence.

If an animal control officer or other person finds a loose animal, County Code § 4-310 requires it to be seized and confined at a public animal shelter for at least five days, extended to ten days if it carries a collar, tag or other identification, before it can be deemed abandoned and disposed of. Chapter 4's separate cruelty provisions in § 4-301 also apply to agricultural animals, including rules against inadequate shelter, food, water or veterinary care, and § 4-311 requires an owner to promptly cremate, bury or sanitarily dispose of a dead companion animal or livestock carcass, with the County able to recover its disposal costs if the owner fails to.