Muncie, IN Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)

Muncie's animal ordinance does not cap how many pets a household may own outright, but it uses a numeric threshold to decide when a residence becomes a regulated "kennel." City Code § 90.01(I) defines a kennel as land or buildings used for selling, breeding, boarding or training animals other than farm animals, "or the keeping of four or more dogs over six months or the keeping of six or more cats over four months old, or the keeping of more than eight dogs or cats." Cross that line and City Code § 90.23 requires an annual kennel license costing $50.00, payable to the animal care and services department on or before the 30th day of January each year and approved annually by both the department's director and the city building commissioner.

A kennel owner is not required to buy an individual dog tag for each animal, but must keep the kennel clean and sanitary and keep dogs and cats from annoying the neighborhood with habitual barking, yelping or howling. The ordinance also requires that a kennel comply with the city's zoning ordinances, since kennel-type uses fall under the joint Delaware-Muncie Metropolitan Plan Commission's zoning rules for the applicable district. Because the kennel definition applies per property rather than per person, roommates or family members housing pets together in one household can trip the threshold collectively.