Jonesboro, AR Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Section 10-10 caps ownership at five domestic animals and/or fowl, excluding cattle and horses, per household at any one time; that ceiling covers backyard chickens along with dogs, cats, and other fowl kept together under the section's definition of owner as any person, firm, or household keeping animals on the same property. Horses and cows get a separate distance rule: subsection (c) bars keeping them within 150 feet of any residence, unless the animals are on a pasture tract of more than two acres, in which case the setback doesn't apply.

The animal control officer enforces the section and, per subsection (d), must give an owner a two-week written warning to correct a violation before seeking an arrest warrant, so a first-time violation isn't an automatic citation. Pet stores and veterinary hospitals are exempt from the whole section under subsection (e). Subsection (f) separately requires every cat over three months old to wear a metal vaccination tag on its neck at all times. Live swine get no exemption or count allowance at all: Section 10-7 bans keeping any live swine within the corporate limits of the city outright, a flat prohibition rather than a numeric cap.

Together the two sections mean a Jonesboro household can keep a small flock of chickens or other fowl up to the five-animal ceiling, but cannot keep pigs at any number, and any horses or cows on a lot under two acres have to clear the 150-foot residence buffer.