Port Townsend, WA Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)
Key Facts
- Chicken cap
- None, if kept as pets
- Kennel license trigger
- 4+ same-species companion animals
- Noncommercial husbandry
- Permitted in all residential zones
- Commercial husbandry
- Conditional use permit, R-I only
- Enforcement
- Port Townsend Police Department
Summary
Port Townsend lets residents keep more than four chickens as companion animals without a kennel license, but other backyard livestock counts toward the four-animal kennel-license threshold, and commercial husbandry is zoning-restricted.
It is unlawful for any person to own, maintain, or operate a kennel in the city unless the person has procured a kennel license. Kennel licenses shall be issued by the city. A person may have more than four chickens on residential property, without having a kennel license, as long as the chickens are kept as companion animals.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 3364, passed May 18, 2026).
Full Breakdown
PTMC 8.04.110 exempts chickens from the animal kennel license otherwise required once a resident keeps four or more companion animals of the same species (PTMC 8.04.010(15)), keep chickens as pets and there's no numeric cap. Other livestock like goats, sheep, or rabbits still count toward that four-animal threshold like any companion animal. Separately, Title 17's zoning use table (Table 17.16.020) lists noncommercial small-animal husbandry, raising animals for the household's own use, as a permitted use in all four residential zones (R-I through R-IV), while commercial small-animal husbandry needs a conditional use permit in R-I and is prohibited outright in R-II, R-III, and R-IV.
Violations & Fines
Keeping four or more same-species companion animals (including non-chicken livestock) without an animal kennel license violates PTMC 8.04.110; the animal control authority (Port Townsend Police Department) can require licensing or treat the violation as a nuisance subject to abatement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I keep chickens in my Port Townsend backyard?
Can I raise goats or other livestock at home?
Where can I run a commercial livestock operation?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Port Townsend
How Port Townsend compares: Best Cities for Backyard Chickens·Compare Port Townsend to another location·View the Washington animal ordinances overview
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