Waterloo, IA Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)
Key Facts
- Covered animals
- Cattle, horses, swine, goats, poultry, fowl
- Keeping requirement
- Must be penned and restrained on owner's property
- Swine
- Banned except 40+ acre farm, packing plant, petting zoo
- Staking rule
- No tying out to graze without consent
- Enforcing agency
- Animal Control
Summary
In the City of Waterloo, Iowa, cattle, horses, mules, swine, sheep, goats, geese, ducks, turkeys, chickens and other fowl can't run at large or be staked out to graze on someone else's property or in a public street, and anyone harboring them must pen and restrain them on their own property. Pigs are banned outright inside the city except on a working farm of 40 acres or more.
A. Prohibited: ... No cattle, horses, mules, swine, sheep, goats, or any geese, ducks, turkeys, chickens or other animal or fowl (hereinafter referred to as animal) shall be allowed to run at large within the city, nor shall any animal be permitted to be staked or tied out to graze on or in front of any person's premises, without the consent of such person, nor shall any animal be permitted to be staked or tied out to graze in public streets, alleys or avenues of the city. ... ... C. Harboring: The harboring of any animal requires that the following guidelines be followed: 1. All such species must be restrained upon the owner's property and penned (housed or stabled) in such a manner that the animals will not place any person in fear of attack. ... 5-1-2: ... SWINE PROHIBITED; EXCEPTIONS: A. No person shall keep or harbor any pigs or have any pigpens or pigsties within the city, except as follows: 1. Nothing contained in this section shall prevent the harboring and keeping of pigs and use of pig pens and sties in connection with a general farming operation on tracts of farmland of the size of forty (40) acres or greater.
Full Breakdown
City Code section 5-1-1A bars letting cattle, horses, mules, swine, sheep, goats, geese, ducks, turkeys, chickens "or other animal or fowl" run at large in the city, and separately bars staking or tying any such animal out to graze on another person's premises without consent or in a public street, alley or avenue. Section 5-1-1C then sets harboring conditions for anyone who keeps these species: "all such species must be restrained upon the owner's property and penned (housed or stabled) in such a manner that the animals will not place any person in fear of attack," which is the operative rule for a resident who wants to keep backyard chickens or similar fowl legally.
Swine get separate, stricter treatment: section 5-1-2A bans keeping or harboring pigs or maintaining pigpens or pigsties within the city outright, with narrow carve-outs for pigs kept as part of a "general farming operation on tracts of farmland of the size of forty (40) acres or greater," pigs at a meatpacking plant awaiting processing, and pigs housed at the Sunrise Exchange Club Petting Zoo.
Violations & Fines
Letting livestock or fowl run at large, staking them on someone else's property without consent, or failing to pen and restrain them under section 5-1-1 is enforced by Animal Control, which may impound the animal. Keeping pigs in the city without qualifying for the farming, meatpacking or petting-zoo exceptions in section 5-1-2 is a separate violation subject to the city's nuisance ordinances.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I keep backyard chickens in Waterloo?
Are pigs allowed in the city?
What happens if my goat or chicken gets loose?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Waterloo
How Waterloo compares: Best Cities for Backyard Chickens·Compare Waterloo to another location·View the Iowa animal ordinances overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.