Pawtucket, RI Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Chapter 116's Article III, Keeping of Animals, traces to Sec. 15-9 of the 1966 Code and was updated December 11, 2003 by Ch. No. 2708. Section 116-8 states plainly that raising or breeding any animals is prohibited in the City by the Pawtucket Zoning Ordinance, and routes penalties to the zoning fine schedule at § 410-101 rather than a separate animal-code fine. 1, which independently forbids any owner, keeper or occupant of a dwelling from keeping sheep, hogs, goats, cattle, horses, geese, ducks, rabbits or other fowl, a category that reaches backyard chickens, in a dwelling house, cellar or garage, or anywhere in the City at all, unless the Animal Control Officer sets special conditions allowing it.

The only built-in carve-outs are for an established zoo or a person holding a permit to operate a stable, so a hobby coop or a handful of hens kept without Animal Control sign-off falls outside the law even on a large residential lot. Because § 116-8 leans on the Zoning Ordinance for the general raising-and-breeding prohibition, a resident weighing any livestock use should also check Chapter 410's zoning fine table at § 410-101 for the dollar penalty that actually attaches to a zoning-based violation.