Lafayette, IN Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Section 10.02.010 of the Lafayette Municipal Code flatly prohibits owning, keeping, or breeding a horse, pig, pony, mule, donkey, jackass, goat, chicken, peacock, turkey, cow, llama, or other livestock anywhere within the City of Lafayette, Indiana. The only carve-out named in the ordinance is Columbian Park Zoo, so there is no permit path, coop-size exception, or hobbyist allowance for backyard hens, roosters, or any other farm animal inside the corporate limits, in contrast to unincorporated Tippecanoe County, which is a separate jurisdiction with its own rules.

The prohibition sits in Chapter 10.02, "Certain Animals Prohibited," alongside the ban on wild or dangerous animals in § 10.02.020, and both bans share the same enforcement structure: Lafayette Police Department Animal Control Officers investigate complaints, and § 10.08.010 lists "wild or dangerous animal in violation of Chapter 10.02" as grounds for impoundment, reaching livestock kept under § 10.02.010 as well. A person cited three or more times for any Title 10 violation within twelve months is deemed a "habitual offender" under § 10.08.080 and faces impoundment of any vertebrate animal in their care, plus a fine of $500 to $1,500 on top of the standard penalty.

Because § 10.02.010 carries no dedicated fine, the chapter's catch-all penalty at § 10.02.990 applies instead. Residents who want to keep livestock have to look outside the city's corporate limits; nothing in Title 15's reference to the county's Unified Zoning Ordinance changes this flat citywide use ban.