Charlotte, NC Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

00 per household annually and must be renewed each year. An animal control bureau employee must inspect the premises before a permit issues, to check whether the animals will endanger neighbors' health, safety or quiet enjoyment. S. 106-700 and rabbits kept exclusively indoors. Compliance with subsection (c)'s standards creates only a rebuttable presumption a permit will issue: fowl and rabbits need a coop, fowl house or hutch at least 18 inches high with at least 4 square feet of floor area per animal, kept at least 25 feet from any property line, cleaned daily with droppings double-bagged, and capped at 20 fowl or rabbits per acre.

Cloven-hoofed animals and other livestock need weatherproof, sanitary shelter; shelters for cows and other large livestock covered by the zoning ordinance must sit at least 75 feet from any property line and provide at least two acres of pasture per animal, while shelters for goats and other small livestock need only a 25-foot setback and a quarter acre of pasture. Newly annexed property owners get 90 days to come into compliance. The bureau may deny or revoke a permit in writing for false information, a chapter violation, or a determination that the animals menace health, safety or welfare, and a correctable violation gives the owner 30 days to fix it.