Marion County, FL Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Marion County Code Sec. 4-11(a) makes it unlawful for any animal owner or responsible person to fail to maintain direct or physical control of the animal and allow it to run at large on any public street, sidewalk, school grounds, park, or on the private property of others without the property owner's consent. Sec. 4-11(b) imposes a continuing duty to keep the animal under physical control any time it is off the owner's real property limits. Sec. 4-2 defines 'direct control' as the immediate, continuous physical control of an animal by confinement within a house, building, pen, or other enclosure, or restraint by a leash or similar tether of sufficient strength.

Sec. 4-11(c) exempts dogs engaged in hunting, organized training, law enforcement work, field trials, dog shows, or use in board-designated dog parks or exercise areas. A 'domestic animal running at large or straying' is defined in Sec. 4-2 as any domestic animal on public grounds or another person's land without permission and not under a person's direct control (community cats excepted). Chapter 4 was readopted in its entirety by Ord. No. 11-55 (Oct. 18, 2011) and is enforced by Marion County Animal Services.