Campbell County, KY Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

01 defines LIVESTOCK to include "cattle, sheep, swine, goats, emus, ostriches, horses, fowl, or any other animals of the bovine, ovine, porcine, caprine, ratite, or equine species," which sweeps backyard chickens and other poultry into the same category as farm animals for enforcement purposes. 16, titled Animals and Livestock to be Under Control, doesn't set a maximum number of birds or a distance a coop must sit from a property line; instead it addresses what happens when livestock get loose. When livestock are running at large, the Animal Services Director, an Animal Control Officer, or the police must make reasonable efforts to notify the owner as soon as possible, and if reasonably possible and feasible, the owner has to be notified before the animal is captured, impounded, or returned.

That means a neighbor who reports wandering chickens or goats should expect county staff to try to reach the owner before removing the animal, not an automatic seizure. 17 makes the owner civilly liable to the county for the cost of care regardless of whether the animal is later reclaimed. This chapter reaches only the unincorporated county; cities inside Campbell County such as Newport or Alexandria set their own keeping rules under their own municipal codes.