Animal Ordinances in Pflugerville, TX

If you live in Pflugerville or are thinking about moving there, animal ordinances are one of those things you probably won't think about until they affect you directly. Pflugerville has 6 specific rules on the books covering different aspects of animal ordinances, and some of them might surprise you.

Beekeeping

Pflugerville sets no beekeeping ordinance. Neither the Animals chapter nor the Unified Development Code restricts residential apiaries, so backyard hives are allowed by right. Only Texas Agriculture Code Chapter 131 applies, and its beekeeper registration with the state apiary inspector is voluntary.

Key details: Local ordinance: None; bees not regulated. Residential permit: Not required for hives. State registration: Voluntary (Ag. Code 131.045). Enforcing agency: Texas Apiary Inspection Service. City backstop: General nuisance code only.

There is no local beekeeping violation to cite in Pflugerville. A hive draws city enforcement only if it becomes a documented general nuisance; suspected bee diseases or pests are reported to the Texas Apiary Inspection Service.

Pflugerville is more permissive than most cities when it comes to beekeeping. That said, there are still limits.

Chickens & Livestock

Keeping livestock in Pflugerville must conform to the zoning code, and any enclosure has to sit at least 50 feet from residentially zoned property, from homes the keeper doesn't own, and from parks and schools. Roosters count as livestock; hens are protected by state law.

Key details: Enclosure setback: 50 ft from homes/residential. Also 50 ft from: Parks and school property. Enforcing agency: Animal Welfare Services. Roosters: Defined as livestock. Hens: 6 protected by state law.

Keeping livestock without zoning conformance, or placing an enclosure within 50 feet of a neighbor's home, residential property, park, or school, is an offense; failing to control manure odor is a separate offense enforced by Animal Welfare Services.

Dog Leash Laws

Pflugerville requires every dog to be under restraint: a leash or lead six feet or shorter, secure fencing, or hands-on physical control. A dog off the owner's property or on a longer tether is running "at large," a chargeable offense under the animal code.

Key details: Tether limit: Six feet maximum. Valid restraint: Leash, secure fence, or hand control. Not restraint: Voice, shock or e-collars. Enforcement: Animal Welfare Services impounds. Exempt: City-authorized off-leash dog parks.

Loose dogs are impounded by Pflugerville Animal Welfare Services, and running at large is a chargeable offense under Chapter 90 that also meets the code's public-nuisance definition. Impounded animals may be held pending a municipal-court petition.

Pflugerville is more permissive than most cities when it comes to dog leash laws. That said, there are still limits.

Pet Limits

Pflugerville's animal code sets no maximum number of dogs or cats a household can keep. Chapter 90 regulates ownership through rabies, welfare, and nuisance standards rather than a headcount, so residents face no per-home pet cap enforced by Animal Welfare Services.

Key details: Pet limit: None set by ordinance. Governing chapter: Chapter 90, Animals. Real constraint: Public-nuisance standard (noise, odor). Rabies vaccination: Required for all dogs, cats. Enforcement: Animal Welfare Services officers.

No penalty attaches to the number of pets alone. Enforcement instead targets nuisance conditions, chronic noise or odor crossing the property line, and lapses in required rabies vaccination or shelter, handled by Animal Welfare Services officers.

The rules around pet limits in Pflugerville lean permissive, but that does not mean anything goes.

Exotic Pets

Keeping a lion, tiger, cougar, bear, monkey, wolf hybrid, or any other dangerous wild animal as a pet is a criminal offense in Pflugerville. Only zoos, government agencies, and permitted wildlife facilities are exempt.

Key details: Rule: Dangerous wild animals banned. Code section: Pflugerville Code § 90.50. Covers: Big cats, bears, primates, hybrids. Exceptions: Zoos, government, permitted wildlife centers. Enforcement: Animal Welfare Services seizure.

Possessing a dangerous wild animal is a misdemeanor offense. Animal Welfare Services can obtain a search warrant and seize the animal, destroy an at-large animal threatening a person's life, and refuse its return unless it is removed from Pflugerville.

This is not one of those rules that cities tend to ignore. Pflugerville actively enforces its exotic pets requirements.

Breed Restrictions

Pflugerville bans no dog breed. Texas law forbids breed-specific ordinances. The city instead declares individual dogs "dangerous" by behavior, following the state definition, and requires those owners to confine the dog in a secure, locked enclosure.

Key details: Breed ban: None: state law forbids it. Governing code: Pflugerville Code § 90.02. Dangerous-dog test: Unprovoked attack causing bodily injury. Enforcement: Animal Welfare Services, 512-990-6280. Secure enclosure: Locked, roofed, 5 ft from property line.

Letting a declared dangerous dog run at large, or failing to keep it in the required secure enclosure, brings enforcement by Animal Welfare Services, impoundment of the dog, and citation under Chapter 90.

Pflugerville is more permissive than most cities when it comes to breed restrictions. That said, there are still limits.

The Bottom Line

Compared to many U.S. cities, Pflugerville gives residents more room on animal ordinances. 4 of the 6 rules here are rated permissive. But permissive does not mean unregulated. There are still requirements, and the city does enforce them when violations are reported.

These rules come from Pflugerville's publicly available municipal code. For complete penalty schedules, exemption details, and answers to common questions, see the individual ordinance pages throughout this guide.