Animal Ordinances in Amarillo, TX (2026)
11 verified animal ordinances for Amarillo, Texas, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Chickens & Livestock
Amarillo caps backyard fowl at four Barnyard Fowl per quarter-acre, and only on lots of at least one-quarter acre. Roosters aren't banned, but they can't exceed 25 percent of the flock. Chickens, ducks, geese, guineas, peacocks, and turkeys all count.
Amarillo Backyard Chickens: Four Fowl per Quarter-Acre, Lot Minimum
Some RestrictionsAmarillo Code of Ordinances § 8-2-5(f)-(h)
(f) It shall be unlawful to keep Barnyard Fowl within the City limits, except: at a location zoned for Industrial, Agricultural, or Heavy Commercial use; or, up to four (4) Barnyard Fowl per quarter-acre may be kept at a location otherwise zoned provided that the location is not less than one-quarter acre in size. (g) It shall be unlawful for a chicken flock to have more than twenty-five (25) p...
Dog Leash Laws
Amarillo requires all dogs to be restrained or confined when off the owner's property. Dogs at large are subject to impoundment by Amarillo Animal Management and Welfare. Owners must have current rabies vaccinations for their dogs.
Amarillo Dog Leash Laws & Off-Leash Rules
Light RestrictionsTex. Health & Safety Code Sec. 822.007, 822.031
Sec. 822.007. LOCAL REGULATION OF DOGS. This subchapter does not prohibit a municipality or county from adopting leash or registration requirements applicable to dogs. ... Sec. 822.031. UNREGISTERED DOGS PROHIBITED FROM RUNNING AT LARGE. The owner or person having control of a dog at least six months of age in a county adopting this subchapter may not allow the dog to run at large unless th...
Breed Restrictions
Amarillo does not impose breed-specific bans. Texas state law (HB 292, 2023) prohibits municipalities from banning specific dog breeds. Amarillo enforces behavior-based dangerous dog provisions.
Amarillo Dog Breed Restrictions & Dangerous Dog Rules
Few RestrictionsTex. Sec. 822.001
Sec. 822.001. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:(1) "Animal control authority" means a municipal or county animal control office with authority over the area in which the dog is kept or the county sheriff in an area that does not have an animal control office.(2) "Serious bodily injury" means an injury characterized by severe bite wounds or severe ripping and tearing of muscle that would caus...
Beekeeping
Amarillo allows beekeeping subject to zoning and nuisance regulations. Beekeepers should maintain hives with adequate setbacks and water sources. Texas is a bee-friendly state with an active apiary industry.
Amarillo Beekeeping & Apiary Regulations
Light RestrictionsTex. Agric. Code Sec. 131.045(a)-(b), 131.061(a)-(b)
Sec. 131.045. BEEKEEPER REGISTRATION. (a) Each beekeeper in this state may register on an annual basis with the chief apiary inspector. A registration under this section expires August 31 following the date the registration is issued. (b) A registration must include: (1) information required by the chief apiary inspector; and (2) the county or counties in which the beekeeper operates. .....
Exotic Pets
Amarillo makes it unlawful to keep, harbor or maintain any Wild Animal within the city limits, a category that by definition covers venomous reptiles, wolf hybrids and any non-domestic animal that typically weighs fifteen pounds or more at maturity. Section 8-2-32 allows only narrow carve-outs for zoos, licensed research facilities, short traveling shows, and one caged educational snake display.
Amarillo Bans Keeping Wild Animals as Pets
Heavy RestrictionsAmarillo Code of Ordinances § 8-2-32(a)
(a)It shall be unlawful to keep, harbor or maintain within the City limits the following:(1)Any Animal designated by the Texas Department of Health as an Animal with a high risk of having Rabies.(2)Any Wild Animal.
Pet Limits
Amarillo caps combined dogs and cats per household at four, and prohibits keeping animals in overcrowded or unsanitary conditions under Chapter 8-2. Animal Management and Welfare officers enforce these rules.
Amarillo Limits Household Pets and Requires Adequate Animal Care
Light RestrictionsTex. Health & Safety Code Sec. 821.021(1), 821.022(a)-(b)
Sec. 821.021. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:(1) "Cruelly treated" includes tortured, seriously overworked, unreasonably abandoned, unreasonably deprived of necessary food, care, or shelter, cruelly confined, caused to fight with another animal, or subjected to conduct prohibited by Section 21.09, Penal Code. Sec. 821.022. ... the officer may apply to a justice court or magistrate in the co...
Cat Rules
Amarillo regulates free-roaming cats through a Community Cat program rather than a blanket at-large ban. Owners of pet cats must feed, water, shelter, and never abandon their cats under Sec. 8-2-80. Anyone maintaining unowned cats must register as a Community Cat Colony Caretaker under Sec. 8-2-81, and a colony cat that becomes a nuisance can be impounded under Sec. 8-2-82.
Amarillo Community Cat Colony Rules
Some RestrictionsAmarillo Code of Ordinances §§ 8-2-80, 8-2-81(a), 8-2-82(a)-(b)
Owners of domesticated cats shall provide appropriate and adequate food, water and shelter for their cats. The owner of a domesticated cat shall exercise reasonable care to guard against the cat creating a nuisance. An owner shall not abandon a domesticated cat. ... Community Cat Colonies may be permitted subject to this Chapter and only Community Cat Colony Caretakers may maintain and care for...
Mandatory Spay/Neuter
Amarillo does not require dog or cat owners to spay or neuter their pets. Instead, the Animal Management & Welfare Department uses impoundment fees as an incentive: an intact animal picked up at large costs $50 to redeem under Sec. 8-2-4(a)(1), while a spayed or neutered animal costs only $30, refundable if proof of sterilization is filed within 60 days.
Amarillo Has No Mandatory Pet Spay-Neuter Law
Light RestrictionsAmarillo Code of Ordinances § 8-2-4(a)(1)
Impoundment of any Animal: Fifty dollars ($50.00) intact; thirty dollars ($30.00) spayed/neutered. This fee only shall be refunded upon satisfactory proof that the violating Animal is spayed/neutered within sixty (60) days after being reclaimed. Refund has no effect on any citation issued for violation.
Microchipping
Amarillo will not release an impounded pet back to its owner, or transfer or adopt it out, without a working microchip. Section 8-2-54(b) requires any domestic or miniature animal over three months old to be implanted with a microchip and current on rabies or erysipelas vaccination before Animal Management and Welfare will redeem, transfer or adopt it.
Amarillo Requires Microchip Before Pet Redemption
Some RestrictionsAmarillo Code of Ordinances § 8-2-54(b)
(b)Any domestic or Miniature Animal over the age of three (3) months which does not have an implanted microchip, or a current rabies or erysipelas vaccination, or male Miniature pig which has tusks, may not be redeemed, transferred or adopted until it has been so vaccinated, implanted with a microchip, and the pig's tusks surgically removed.
Veterinary Clinic Zoning
Amarillo's zoning code treats a 'Veterinarian's Office Only (No Hospital)' as a distinct land use from an animal hospital or kennel. Under Code of Ordinances Sec. 4-10-83(a)(81), that lighter classification permits only outpatient treatment; overnight boarding of any animal is barred outright, pushing boarding practices into the separate Animal Clinic, Hospital, or Kennel category with its own zoning path.
Amarillo Veterinary Offices Barred From Boarding
Some RestrictionsAmarillo, Tex., Code of Ordinances § 4-10-83(a)(75), (81)
(81)Veterinarian's Office Only (no hospital): A facility for the prevention, treatment, minor surgery, cure or alleviation of disease and/or injury in Animals, specifically Domestic Animals, with all care provided on an outpatient treatment basis only. No overnight boarding of Animals shall be allowed. ... (75)Kennel: Any place where five (5) or more dogs, cats or any combination thereof, over ...
Bird Protection
Amarillo's Parks Conduct ordinance makes it unlawful to hunt, molest, harm, kill, trap or possess any bird, its eggs or nest inside a city park, with a narrow carve-out for killing deadly poisonous snakes on sight.
Amarillo Bars Hunting or Harming Wildlife in City Parks
Some RestrictionsAmarillo Code of Ordinances § 12-7-4(5)
(5)Hunting. Hunt, molest, harm, kill, trap, chase, tease, shoot or throw missiles at any Animal, reptile or bird; remove or have in his possession the young of any Wild Animal, or the eggs or nest or young of any reptile or bird; nor collect, remove, have in his possession, give away, sell or offer to sell, or buy or offer to buy, or accept as a gift any specimen alive or dead of any of the for...