Merced, CA Animal Ordinances: Livestock (2026)

The City of Merced's livestock rules sit in Section 6.04.080. Subsection I makes it unlawful to keep more than two (2) livestock or poultry on any residential lot in the city. Subsection D bans keeping or running at large any horses or cows in a defined downtown district bounded on the north by Bear Creek, the east by Parsons Avenue extended, the south by Eighth Street extended, and the west by V Street. Subsection C prohibits hog pens, pigsties, and keeping live hogs longer than 24 hours (except for governmental educational purposes), and subsection E bars herding or picketing animals in any street or alley. Subsections G and H prohibit keeping or slaughtering livestock for slaughter or product except in properly zoned commercial/industrial areas. Owners must keep livestock behind a lawful fence (Sec. 6.04.090), and owners of at-large livestock are liable for the costs of restraining and capturing them (Sec. 6.04.080B). The city's "domestic animal" definition (Sec. 6.04.010N) recognizes horses, donkeys, mules, cattle, sheep, goats, swine, llamas, camels, rabbits and fowl as livestock animals, but the two-per-lot cap governs in standard residential zones. Section 6.04.081 preserves broader livestock rights (cattle, goats, sheep, horses, etc.) on qualifying larger parcels in three legacy areas annexed from Merced County, generally allowing up to two large animals per acre.