Wellington, FL Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Section 6.8.9 of the Land Development Regulations lists supplementary standards that apply to every principal and accessory equestrian use within the Equestrian Preserve Area, and two of those standards directly govern birds and livestock. Under subsection B, aviculture, meaning the keeping of birds, is capped at a maximum of 200 birds on any property in the EPA, regardless of lot size, so a large acreage does not increase the allowance. Pens, cages or other structures built to house or care for those birds must be set back at least 50 feet from any property line, a distance well beyond the ordinary accessory structure setback used elsewhere in the Land Development Regulations, which keeps aviaries away from neighboring homes and roads.

Subsection L addresses livestock raising more broadly and takes a harder line: processing and slaughtering of livestock is strictly prohibited, with no acreage or permit exception listed in the section. That means a Wellington property owner can keep horses, cattle or other livestock consistent with the applicable EPA subarea's use table, but cannot operate any on-site processing or slaughter operation as part of that use, commercial or otherwise. Both standards sit inside the EOZD chapter that governs the Equestrian Preserve Area specifically, including neighborhoods like Palm Beach Little Ranches and Rustic Ranches, rather than the Village at large, so a property outside the EPA is regulated instead by the underlying zoning district's use table for any animal-keeping use.