Animal Ordinances in Anaheim, CA (2026)
14 verified animal ordinances for Anaheim, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Chickens & Livestock
Anaheim caps backyard poultry and rabbits at one animal per 1,800 square feet of lot area and bans roosters and peacocks in residential zones. Horses, cattle, sheep, goats and swine each carry their own minimum-acreage and per-animal spacing rules under the animal keeping ordinance.
Anaheim Backyard Chickens & Livestock Rules
Some RestrictionsAnaheim Municipal Code Sec. 18.38.030 (.020, .030, .050)
No equine, bovine, sheep, swine, goat or bird shall be kept, stabled, tethered, corralled or confined in any manner within fifty (50) feet of any structure used for human habitation, other than that of the owner, or within twenty (20) feet of any property line, except when kept in the dwelling. ... No equine animal shall be kept, stabled, tethered or otherwise maintained on any parcel of proper...
Dog Leash Laws
Anaheim requires dogs in its public parks to stay on a leash, chain or other restraint no longer than six feet, with narrow carve-outs for the City's designated Dog Parks and for horses on certain trail-linked Special Use Parks. AMC Section 13.08.020 bans letting any animal run loose in a park, and a leash violation there can be charged as a criminal infraction.
Anaheim Park Dog Leash Requirement
Some RestrictionsAnaheim, CA, Municipal Code Sec. 13.08.020(.010) (Prohibited Conduct Generally)
To bring, leave, hitch, fasten, lead, drive or turn loose or allow to go free any animal or fowl of any kind; provided that this shall not apply to dogs held on a leash, chain or other restraint not more than six feet long, nor to dogs within a Dog Park as further defined under Chapter 13.14 hereof, nor to any horse when hitched, fastened or led within any City of Anaheim park that links with t...
Breed Restrictions
Anaheim does not impose breed-specific restrictions. California state law (Food & Agriculture Code 31683) prohibits breed-specific bans. Dangerous and vicious dogs are regulated based on behavior under state law and AMC Chapter 8.08.
Anaheim Dog Breed & Dangerous Dog Rules
Few RestrictionsCal. Food & Agricultural Code Section 31683
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent a city or county from adopting or enforcing its own program for the control of potentially dangerous or vicious dogs that may incorporate all, part, or none of this chapter, or that may punish a violation of this chapter as a misdemeanor or may impose a more restrictive program to control potentially dangerous or vicious dogs. Except as prov...
Beekeeping
Keeping honey bee hives anywhere in Anaheim's corporate limits is unlawful under Municipal Code Chapter 6.28. The only path around the ban is a Conditional Use Permit on land zoned Transition (T), Single-Family Hillside Residential (RH-1), or the Anaheim Canyon Specific Plan No. 2015-01 zone.
Anaheim Beekeeping Ban and Exceptions
Heavy RestrictionsAnaheim Municipal Code Sec. 6.28.010 (Beekeeping Prohibited)
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to keep or suffer to be kept or maintained within the corporate limits of the City of Anaheim any hive or hives, swarm or swarms of honey bees; provided, however, that this prohibition shall not apply to any property which is zoned "T" Transition Zone, "RH-1" Single-Family Hillside Residential, or the Anaheim Canyon Specific Plan No. 2015...
Exotic Pets
Anaheim defers to Orange County and California Department of Fish and Wildlife for exotic pet regulations. Keeping wild, exotic, or dangerous animals requires a county license under OCCO 4-1-94. State permits may also be required.
Anaheim Exotic & Wild Animal Regulations
Significant RestrictionsCal. Fish & Game Code § 2118 (Restricted Live Wild Animals)
2118. It is unlawful to import, transport, possess, or release alive into this state, except under a revocable, nontransferable permit as provided in this chapter and the regulations pertaining thereto, any wild animal of the following species: (a) Class Aves: (birds) Family Cuculidae (cuckoos) All Species. Family Alaudidae (larks) Skylark, Alauda arvensis Family Corvidae (crows, jays, magpies)...
Wildlife Feeding
Anaheim discourages feeding wildlife in public areas under general nuisance and park regulations. AMC Chapter 13.08 governs conduct in parks. Feeding coyotes or other wildlife that creates a public safety hazard may result in citation.
Anaheim Wildlife Feeding Restrictions
Some RestrictionsCalifornia Department of Fish and Wildlife — Human-Wildlife Conflicts Toolkit
Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) can occur when humans encounter or interact with wild animals in an unwanted or unsafe way. In California, habitat loss and a changing climate have increased the frequency and type of HWC reported to CDFW. It has become more common for people to be "living with wildlife" as communities grow along the urban-wildlands interface and wildlife look for limited resources...
Pet Limits
Animal hoarding in Anaheim is addressed through animal keeping limits in the municipal code and nuisance abatement. Exceeding permitted animal numbers or maintaining unsanitary conditions triggers enforcement by Code Enforcement and OC Animal Care.
Anaheim Animal Hoarding Regulations
Some RestrictionsCal. Penal Code § 597 (Animal Cruelty)
597. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (c) of this section or Section 599c, a person who maliciously and intentionally maims, mutilates, tortures, or wounds a living animal, or maliciously and intentionally kills an animal, is guilty of a crime punishable pursuant to subdivision (d). (b) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (a) or (c), a person who overdrives, overloads, drives when ...
Cat Rules
Anaheim does not license cats or restrict them from running at large, but feeding feral or stray cats on public property requires registering as a cat caregiver with the Community Preservation Manager, and feeding on private property cannot create a nuisance.
Anaheim Feral Cat Feeding Rules
Some RestrictionsAnaheim Municipal Code Sec. 6.44.010.1301
.1301 It shall be unlawful for any person to feed a feral cat, a stray cat or a cat community on public property, unless the person is a cat caregiver, who first obtains permission from the Community Preservation Manager. It shall also be unlawful for any person to feed a feral cat, a stray cat or a cat community on private property in a manner that creates harmful health or sanitation condit...
Mandatory Spay/Neuter
Anaheim follows California state guidance and OC Animal Care policy requiring spay or neuter for adopted shelter animals, with intact-animal permits required for breeding dogs and unaltered animals subject to higher license fees.
Anaheim Mandatory Spay/Neuter Rules
Some RestrictionsCal. Food & Agric. Code § 30503 (Mandatory Spay/Neuter Before Sale or Adoption of Dogs)
30503. (a) (1) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b), no public animal control agency or shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, humane society shelter, or rescue group shall sell or give away to a new owner any dog that has not been spayed or neutered. (2) For the purposes of this section a “rescue group” is a for-profit or not-for-profit entity, or a colla...
Pet Store Rules
Anaheim pet stores must comply with California AB 485, which prohibits retail sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits unless sourced from public shelters or qualifying nonprofit rescues, eliminating commercial puppy mill pipelines.
Anaheim Pet Store Sourcing Restrictions
Heavy RestrictionsCal. Health & Safety Code § 122354.5 (Pet Store Sourcing Restrictions)
122354.5. (a) A pet store shall not adopt out, sell, or offer for sale a dog, cat, or rabbit. This section does not prevent a pet store from providing space to display animals for adoption in accordance with subdivision (b). (b) (1) A pet store shall not provide space for the display of dogs, cats, or rabbits available for adoption unless the animals are displayed by either a public animal cont...
Pet Groomer Rules
Anaheim does not write its own pet-grooming rules: AMC Chapter 8.24 adopts Orange County's animal-facility ordinances by reference, including the provisions covering grooming parlors, kennels and pet shops. A violation of the adopted County grooming-parlor standards is a misdemeanor in Anaheim, enforced the same way it would be enforced in the County's own unincorporated territory.
Anaheim Adopts County Pet Groomer Rules
Some RestrictionsAnaheim, CA, Municipal Code Sec. 8.24.030 (Amendments)
The ordinances adopted hereby are intended to apply to animal control and regulation within the jurisdiction of the City of Anaheim in the same manner as they apply to animal control and regulation within the unincorporated area of the County of Orange. Therefore, the ordinances adopted hereby shall be amended as necessary to achieve that goal, including amending references to the County or the...
Veterinary Clinic Zoning
Anaheim allows veterinary clinics and animal boarding facilities in commercial and industrial zones only with conditional approval, and Municipal Code Sec. 18.38.270 layers on mandatory odor, sound, sanitation and waste-handling standards before the city issues a building permit.
Anaheim Veterinary & Animal Boarding Zoning
Some RestrictionsAnaheim, CA, Municipal Code Sec. 18.38.270 (Veterinary Services and Animal Boarding)
18.38.270 VETERINARY SERVICES AND ANIMAL BOARDING. .010 Mechanical equipment designed to reduce odor emissions from the interior space shall be installed for this tenant space and screened from view. Such information shall be shown on plans submitted for building permits. .020 The following operating conditions shall be adhered to in order to maintain cleanliness of the facility and surrounding...
Bird Protection
Anaheim has banned killing native insectivorous birds since 1891, decades before state and federal wildlife law caught up. AMC Section 8.12.010 makes it unlawful for anyone within city limits to kill, maim, wound or destroy any swallow, mockingbird, blackbird, or other insectivorous bird. The ordinance carries no permit exception and predates the city's current animal-control code by more than a century.
Anaheim's 1891 Bird Protection Ordinance
Heavy RestrictionsAnaheim, CA, Municipal Code Sec. 8.12.010 (Injuring Insectivorous Birds Prohibited)
It shall be and is hereby made unlawful for any person or persons to kill, maim, wound or destroy, within the corporate limits of the City of Anaheim, any swallow, mockingbird, blackbird or other insectivorous bird.
Wildlife Rescue Permits
California Fish and Wildlife issues wildlife rehabilitator permits required to possess injured native wildlife in Anaheim, and unpermitted residents must transport injured animals promptly to a licensed rehabber.
Anaheim Wildlife Rescue and Rehab Permits
Some RestrictionsCalifornia Department of Fish and Wildlife – Native Wildlife Rehabilitation Permit Program
Native Wildlife Rehabilitation [...] Injured, sick, and orphaned wild animals may be temporarily possessed for rehabilitation by a person in California under a Native Wildlife Rehabilitation Permit issued by CDFW. Trained wildlife rehabilitators provide treatment and care of these animals for the purpose of their release, in a condition of good health, to suitable habitat in the wild. Wildlife ...
Looking for Orange County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Anaheim city rules.
Animal Ordinances in Orange County →