Mansfield, TX Animal Ordinances: Livestock (2026)

Livestock in Mansfield is regulated through Chapter 14 (Animals) of the City Code together with the Unified Development Code zoning framework. Cattle, horses, mules, donkeys, hogs, sheep, goats, and similar livestock cannot be kept on standard single-family residential lots. They are allowed on larger estate and agriculturally zoned tracts typically of one acre or more, subject to stocking density, setbacks from property lines and dwellings, fencing and watering requirements, and manure management rules drawn from Texas Commission on Environmental Quality general requirements and Texas Animal Health Commission standards. Rural parcels annexed into Mansfield over the past two decades often carry legal non-conforming rights for livestock that predate annexation; owners keeping that status must not expand the use. Hogs are the most tightly controlled: Texas requires that swine be kept in clean, fly-proofed pens of approved size, and Mansfield enforces additional nuisance separation distances from neighboring residences. Breeding, commercial dairy, and slaughter operations require commercial zoning and additional state permits from Texas Animal Health Commission and TCEQ where applicable. Fencing must contain animals reliably; escaped livestock constitute a Class C offense and may result in impoundment at the owner's cost under Texas Agriculture Code Chapter 142 estray procedures. HOA covenants in master-planned subdivisions prohibit livestock categorically and are enforceable as private contract law.