Sampson County, NC Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)
Key Facts
- Chicken/rabbit numeric cap
- None in unincorporated county
- Municipal-only cap (Sec. 4-1-06.E(c))
- 10 chickens or rabbits per lot
- Sanitation standard set by
- Sampson County Board of Health
- Public grazing
- Prohibited in parks, cemeteries, sidewalks
- First civil penalty
- $50, rising to $200
- Enforcing agency
- Sheriff's Office
Summary
In unincorporated Sampson County, chickens and rabbits may be kept without a numeric limit as long as the pen meets the Board of Health's sanitary standards, stables must be kept clean, and grazing animals cannot be staked in parks, cemeteries or other public places. The county's 10-animal cap on chickens and rabbits applies only inside municipalities that adopt this ordinance, not the unincorporated county.
4-1-06.A Keeping Chickens or Rabbits - Sanitation Requirements It shall be unlawful to keep, house or pen chickens or rabbits on premises which fail to meet sanitary standards established by the Sampson County Board of Health. 4-1-06.B Stables to be Kept Clean Every stable or other place where cattle, horses or animals are kept shall be maintained at all times in a clean and healthful condition. 4-1-06.C Grazing Animals It shall be unlawful for any owner or keeper to stake or graze any cow, horse or other animal in any park, cemetery or other public place or near any public sidewalk. ... 4-1-06. ... E Provisions Only Applicable Within the Corporate Limits of Any Municipality in Which This Ordinance is Applied ... ... c. No more than ten (10) chickens or rabbits shall be kept, housed, or penned at a dwelling or on the lot on which such dwelling is located within the corporate limits of any municipality in which this ordinance is applied.
Full Breakdown
Sampson County Code Sec. 4-1-06.A makes it unlawful to keep, house or pen chickens or rabbits on premises that fail to meet sanitary standards set by the Sampson County Board of Health, with no numeric cap stated for the unincorporated county. Sec. 4-1-06.B requires every stable or other place where cattle, horses or other animals are kept to be maintained at all times in a clean and healthful condition, and Sec. 4-1-06.C makes it unlawful for an owner or keeper to stake or graze a cow, horse or other animal in any park, cemetery or other public place or near any public sidewalk.
Sec. 4-1-06.E is headed 'Provisions Only Applicable Within the Corporate Limits of Any Municipality in Which This Ordinance is Applied' and its paragraph c is the source of the widely repeated 10-chicken/rabbit-per-lot limit; because that heading confines the whole subsection to municipalities that have adopted the county's animal ordinance within town limits, the cap does not bind property in unincorporated Sampson County. The same subsection's paragraph a bars hogs, pigs, swine or other porcine animals within municipal corporate limits, and paragraph b sets a 100-foot setback from dwellings, schools, churches or eating establishments for stabled horses, mules, ponies, cows or goats, again municipal-only.
Sec. 4-1-06.D separately bars selling or giving away live animals in a public right-of-way or on public property countywide, unless a 501(c)(3) animal welfare group holds a Sheriff's Office permit.
Violations & Fines
Any violation of Chapter 4, including the sanitation, stable-cleanliness or public-grazing rules, carries a civil penalty under Sec. 4-1-07.B: $50 for a first offense, $100 for a second within twelve months and $200 for a third or subsequent offense in that period, due within seven days of the notice of violation. The conduct also constitutes a Class 3 misdemeanor, punishable by up to $100 and up to 20 days imprisonment if the fine goes unpaid within 30 days. The Sheriff's Office enforces Chapter 4 and may pursue civil abatement through the General Court of Justice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a limit on how many chickens I can keep in unincorporated Sampson County?
Do I need a permit to keep chickens on my unincorporated county property?
Can I graze a horse or cow near my house in unincorporated Sampson County?
What if my stable or livestock pen gets dirty and smells?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sampson County
How Sampson County compares: Best Cities for Backyard Chickens·Compare Sampson County to another location·View the North Carolina animal ordinances overview
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