Davis County, UT Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Section 17-41-403 requires every political subdivision, including Davis County, to write its nuisance ordinances so they exclude any agricultural activity or operation inside a formally established agriculture protection area, so long as the operation follows sound agricultural practices and does not bear a direct relationship to public health or safety. That protection reaches poultry, fowl and livestock keeping the same as row crops or dairies: an owner sued or cited over odor, noise or flies from a backyard flock or a small herd can raise the statute as a complete defense in a civil nuisance suit or a criminal public nuisance charge under Utah Code section 76-10-803, provided the animals were kept within the protection area and the keeping did not violate any other federal, state or local law.

16 still applies to birds that wander onto a neighbor's land regardless of where they are kept. Anyone buying land within 300 feet of an agriculture protection area boundary must also see a recorded plat notice warning that ordinary farm annoyances, including animal odor and noise, come with the territory and are not grounds for a later complaint. The legislature last amended the section by Chapter 81 and Chapter 227 of the 2019 General Session, both effective May 14, 2019.