Animal Ordinances in Birmingham, AL (2026)
9 verified animal ordinances for Birmingham, Alabama, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Chickens & Livestock
Birmingham's zoning ordinance allows a backyard chicken coop as an accessory use to a single-family home in D-1, D-2 and D-3 districts: no more than 6 hens, roosters prohibited, and an enclosed predator-proof coop/run in the rear yard. Larger flocks (up to 100 hens) and livestock barns are allowed only in agricultural/commercial districts.
Up to 6 hens, no roosters; coop accessory use
Some RestrictionsCity of Birmingham Zoning Ordinance, Title 1, Chapter 4 (Land Use Development Standards - Permitted as Accessory), Sec. on Chicken Coop, subsec. B
B. Chicken Coop. In D-1, D-2 and D-3 districts a chicken coop shall be permitted as an accessory use to a dwelling provided that the following conditions are met: 1. It is accessory to an occupied single-family detached residential structure. 2. Hens are not kept in residential structure and must be kept in coop/run at all times. 3. Roosters are prohibited. 4. No more than 6 hens per property. ...
Dog Leash Laws
It is unlawful for a Birmingham owner to let a dog or cat run at large, meaning off-leash and not confined by a wall, fence or vehicle. Fines escalate fast: $100 minimum for a first offense within 12 months, $250 for a second (which forces a court appearance), and $400 plus possible jail for a third or later offense.
Birmingham Dog and Cat At-Large Prohibition
Some RestrictionsBirmingham Code of Ordinances § 6-1-14
(a)Offenses. It shall be unlawful for the owner or any person having charge or control of a dog or cat to allow it to be or to run at large.(b)Penalties.(1)The minimum fine on a finding of guilty or a plea of guilty on a first offense within a 12-month period of time shall be $100.00, which first offense may be resolved administratively as provided in section 8-3-10, as the same may be amended ...
Breed Restrictions
Birmingham does not impose a breed-specific ban. Alabama's dangerous-dog law (Emily's Law) is expressly breed-neutral: a dog is judged dangerous by its conduct, regardless of breed, which constrains any local breed-specific legislation.
No breed bans; dangerous-dog law is breed-neutral
Few RestrictionsAla. Code Sec. 3-6A-3 (Control of Dangerous Dogs - Definitions; 'Emily's Law')
DANGEROUS DOG. A dog, regardless of its breed, that has bitten, attacked, or caused physical injury, serious physical injury, or death to a person without justification, except a dog that is a police animal as defined by Section 13A-11-260, used by law enforcement officials for legitimate law enforcement purposes.
Beekeeping
Birmingham's Zoning Ordinance lets a homeowner keep up to ten beehives as an accessory use to a residential structure or community garden, but every apiary must sit in the rear yard, stay 20 feet from all property lines, and include a six-foot flyway barrier that forces bees to fly up and over neighboring yards instead of straight across the fence line.
Birmingham Backyard Beekeeping Zoning Rules
Some RestrictionsBirmingham Zoning Ordinance, Title 1, Article I, Section 1 (E-1 Estate District), Subsection 2, Item 17 (Apiary)
17.Apiary provided that it is accessory to a residential structure or community garden, located in a rear yard, hives are set back from property lines by 20 feet, a continuous water source is available, a flyway barrier (fence or dense evergreen shrub) is provided that is six feet high and extends three feet either side of the hive opening, hive opening faces the flyway barrier, two hives are a...
Exotic Pets
Birmingham does not list which exotic species are banned outright; instead it requires that any wild or vicious animal kept in the city be securely confined so it cannot bite or attack a person or another animal. Keeping one loose or under inadequate restraint is itself the violation, enforced by police and animal control officers.
Birmingham Wild or Vicious Animal Confinement
Some RestrictionsBirmingham Code of Ordinances § 6-1-2
It shall be unlawful for the owner or other person in charge thereof to harbor or keep in the city a wild or vicious animal unless the same is securely confined or bound in such a manner as to prevent that animal from biting or attacking a person or another animal.
Pet Limits
No Birmingham-specific ordinance sets a fixed maximum number of household dogs or cats; Alabama state law does not impose a numeric pet limit either. Animals must still be confined, vaccinated for rabies, and may not be kept so as to create a public nuisance.
No fixed numeric dog/cat cap; nuisance limits apply
Few RestrictionsAla. Code Sec. 3-7A-14 (rabies chapter; municipal authority to control and regulate dogs and cats)
Nothing in this chapter shall be held to limit in any manner the power of any municipality to prohibit dogs, cats, or ferrets from running at large, regardless of rabies immunization status as herein provided; nor shall anything in this chapter be construed, in any manner, to limit the power of any municipality to further control and regulate dogs or cats in such municipality.
Cat Rules
Birmingham makes it unlawful to keep any cat over three months old without a current rabies inoculation and tag issued under state law. The city runs no feral-colony or trap-neuter-return program in its code: a stray or unowned cat picked up by animal control is impounded and, if unclaimed after three days, may be destroyed, adopted out, or transferred by the animal control supervisor.
Birmingham Cat Rabies Tag and Impoundment
Some RestrictionsBirmingham Code of Ordinances § 6-1-12
It shall be unlawful for the owner or any person to possess, keep or harbor in the city any dog or cat over three months of age which has not been inoculated against rabies within the preceding 12 months and tagged as required by Code of Ala. 1975, §§ 3-7-2 and 3-7-4.
Veterinary Clinic Zoning
Birmingham's Zoning Ordinance permits veterinary clinics, kennels, dog training, and boarding facilities as a listed use in the M-1A General Industrial District, but an outdoor kennel or dog run needs a site development plan approved by the Zoning Advisory Committee and cannot sit within 1,000 feet of a residential zoning district.
Birmingham Veterinary Clinic & Kennel Zoning
Some RestrictionsBirmingham Zoning Ordinance, Title 1, Article III, Section 2 (M-1A General Industrial District), Subsection 2, Items 14 and 19.b
Subsection 2.Use regulations. A building or premises shall be used only for the following purposes:1.Business and professional offices....13.Printing, book binding.14.Veterinary clinics, kennels, dog training and boarding facilities.15.Assembly of parts for production of finished goods....19.Accessory structures and uses:a.Except that no outside storage of materials shall be permitted, when adj...
Bird Protection
Birmingham flatly bans maiming or killing any wild or migratory bird within city limits, no exceptions written into the section. The rule sits in the same animal chapter as the city's poultry-keeping provisions, which separately regulate domestic fowl kept for food or sale rather than wild birds.
Birmingham Wild and Migratory Bird Protection
Heavy RestrictionsBirmingham Code of Ordinances § 6-1-119
It shall be unlawful for any person to maim or kill any wild or migratory bird within the city.
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County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Birmingham city rules.
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