Miami Beach, FL Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Sec. 10-15(a) prohibits any person from keeping, stabling, harboring or maintaining 'any horse, poultry, livestock or farm animal, regardless of whether said animal is domesticated or trained, in any zoning district in the city,' explicitly including any commercial establishment, structure or building and any public or private property. That means chickens, ducks, goats or any other farm animal are barred everywhere in the city, not just in residential zones. The only relief is a city manager permit for lawfully permitted public events such as circuses and shows, or other special cases approved in advance for temporary periods.

Enforcement mirrors Sec. 10-9's escalating structure: a first offense draws a written warning, a second violation within six months carries a $1,000 fine, a third carries $5,000, and a fourth or subsequent violation within six months carries $10,000 and revocation of the violator's business tax receipt. The code compliance department enforces the section and businesses must certify compliance with their BTR application or renewal. A cited party has ten days to pay the fine or request a hearing before a special magistrate, and the magistrate has no discretion to lower the fixed fine amounts.

This section works alongside chapter 142's separate zoning-code cross-reference on livestock (§ 142-876) and the maximum-animal cap in § 142-877, underscoring that Miami Beach treats backyard farm animals as an outright prohibition rather than a regulated use.